Feb., 1909.] THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 165 



the birds showed every kind of resentment at my actions, and 

 they were quickly replaced by one of them on the stick across the 

 bower and close to the lower wall. At the larger bowers the males 

 only assembled, and rarely a female, doubtless being engaged in 

 the duties of incubation or tending their young. My blackboys 

 informed me that these birds bathed every day before assembling 

 at the bower, which was always about mid-day, also that if one 

 set fire to their bower they would come round and pick off the 

 pieces of moss before they were consumed. The former I 

 verified one day when my boys informed me that several were 

 bathing in the creek. Hastening to the spot, I saw five males 

 disporting themselves in the shallow water. After a time they 

 left it and flew into a tree, shaking out their feathers and drying 

 themselves, as they slowly flew from tree to tree until they reached 

 the bower. To see what they would do, although much against 

 my will, I one day set fire to their bower. Immediately a male 

 came and perched on a tree close by, and, with his head bowed 

 down and drooping wings, remained motionless for nearly half an 

 hour. I set fire to two more bowers, and the male in each instance 

 acted in a similar dejected manner. The female builds a bower 

 for herself, generally about twenty yards away from the one at 

 which the males assemble. It is in every respect similar to that 

 constructed by the male, but is much smaller, not being half the 

 size." 



ScENOPCEETES DENTiROSTRis, Tooth-biUed Bower-bird. 



Scenopcetts dentirostris, Ramsay, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1875, 



p. 391- 



^cenopoeetes dentirostris, North, Abstr. Proc. Linn. Soc. 



N.S.W., p. iii. (27th Nov., 1908). 



Thirty-three years ago last November Dr. E. P. Ramsay described 

 the present species in the '' Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 of London " from a mutilated specimen, the bird being killed by 

 Inspector Johnstone, of Cardwell, with a bullet, in the Sea View 

 Range, North-eastern Queensland. It was not until thirteen 

 years after that much knowledge was gained of its habits and 

 a large series of specimens procured. Frequenting the same 

 situations as Newton's Bower-bird, the history relating to its 

 haunts and habits is so precisely similar to the preceding 

 species that it is needless here to repeat it. Suffice to state that 

 Mr. K. Broadbent, on behalf of the Queensland Museum, and 

 Messrs. E. J. Cairn and Robt. Grant, on behalf of the Australian 

 Museum, Sydney, were again instrumental in obtaining a fine 

 series of these birds, and made us better acquainted with their 

 play-grounds; no information, however, was gained of its nest 

 and eggs. 



During the latter half of 1908 Mr. G. Sharp undertook 



