152 THE ODYSSEY OF AN ANIMAL COLLECTOR 
ently maintained long past the breeding season, and in captivity 
odd males spend all their spare time constructing and altering 
them, so it is obvious that this activity is an urge not directly con- 
nected with breeding. The bowers are, in fact, used more as a 
playground than anything else. They are constructed on the 
ground of sticks, though the different species have totally different 
ideas as to the form they should take. 
The most artistic of this strange group of birds is the Gardener 
Bower-bird of New Guinea. He constructs a hut-shaped bower 
that is open on one side and is composed largely of twigs as well 
as orchid stems, the whole being covered with moss. The ground 
facing the entrance to the bower is kept clear of fallen leaves and 
sticks and is decorated daily with fresh flowers and colorful fruits 
which are replaced when withered. 
The Satin Bower-bird, which is fairly common throughout east 
and southeast Australia, is about the size of a jackdaw, the adult 
male having shiny purplish-blue plumage in contrast to the female 
and young male which have greenish plumage with speckled 
under parts. Both have wonderful light blue eyes, and it is strange 
that the male has a marked preference for this color when decorat- 
ing the ground around the bower—choosing blue feathers, blue 
flowers, and, when obtainable, even pieces of blue cloth and blue 
glass. The bower itself is composed of a platform of twigs from 
which two parallel walls of sticks rise to a height of about a foot 
and are usually arched inwards to form a partly covered run-way. 
Like the birds-of-paradise, the males take six or seven years to 
attain the full adult plumage, looking like females till their third 
or fourth year, then gradually producing more and more purple 
feathers. The Satin Bower-bird, besides his artistic accomplish- 
ments as a builder, is a wonderful mimic. 
The catbirds, which get their name from their cat-like mewing 
call-notes, do not bother to construct bowers but clear a stretch of 
ground and strew it with leaves. These are invariably placed upside 
down and among them the catbird dances, tossing leaves in the air 
as he goes. 
The Long-necked Terrapin is noted for its long rubber-like neck 
giving the creature the appearance of a snake emerging from a 
