210 Macgillivray, Oynithologisis in North Queensland. [.^''A^rii 



appeared on the horizon, and all go through the same evolutions before 

 finally seeking a resting-place in the mangroves. 



Shining Starlings are not wholly fruit-caters, as we noticed a 

 number of them busily engaged in capturing flying insects in open' 

 forest. When at Raine Island, on the loth December, one of these 

 birds was found sheltering in the tower. 



Ailuroedus maculosus {Ailura'dus melanolits maculosiis). — We seldom 

 saw the Spotted Cat-Bird in the scrub, but frequently heard its cat- 

 like cries. When first we came to the Claudie dozens of old nests 

 were seen in the scrub, but it was not until after our return from the 

 islands that we found a fresh one ; this contained a pair of eggs on 

 the 2ist December, and was 15 feet up in a small scrub tree. The 

 nest was open, constructed of sticks, and lined with bark fibre. 



Chlamydera cerviniventris (C. cerviniventris cefviniventvis). — Fawn- 

 breasted Bower-Birds are shy, and more often heard than seen. At 

 the sandalwood landing an old disused bower was on the bank of the 

 river right by our camp, with a still older one a few yards distant. 

 Mr. M'Lennan found a new one a couple of hundred yards further 

 back. It was a very compact structure of closely-interwoven sticks 

 and twigs — so closely, that the inside walls were quite smooth, and so 

 secured to the floor and platforms at either end that it could be 

 moved en masse. On the platforms were collections of glossy green 

 berries, and a number are also stuck along the top of the side walls. 

 The old and withered berries had been removed to a place a couple 

 of feet away from the bower, and formed quite a small heap. Every 

 morning fresh berries are brought to the bower and the withered ones 

 are removed. Two days after finding this bower Mr. M'Lennan and 

 I, when out with two blacks looking for some wild bees' hives, heard 

 a Bower-Bird calling, and found a fine new bower in a small clump 

 of tea-tree in open forest country. It was very compactly built. 

 The actual bovver was 14 inches long by 13 inches wide ; one wall was 

 6 inches high, the other 4. The passage was 3 inches in width, with 

 perfectly smooth inside walls. The front platform was 14 inches by 

 12 inches, and was covered with fresh green berries, about 100 in 

 all. These were also stuck in along the tops of the walls on the 

 inner edge, and there were a few on the rear platform, which measured 

 10 inches by 7 inches. 



When at Cape Restoration, on the 13th January, we listened to 

 one of these birds giving voice to a great variety of notes, and found 

 that she had a fully-fledged young one with her. 



Mr. Kershaw had the first bower removed on the 9th January for 

 transport to the Melbourne Museum. Seventeen days afterwards 

 the birds had a fine new bower all complete a few feet from the old 

 site. 



Chlamydera ox'iQnidAis {Roqersovnis nuchalis nuchalis). — The Queens- 

 land Bower-Bird was fairly plentiful on the Archer River. In July 

 Mr. M'Lennan found a bower in a small patch of scrub. Length, 

 2 feet; breadth, 18 inches; height, 15 inches; roofed over with a 

 thin layer of twigs, forming a tunnel-like run 9 inches high by 6 inches 

 wide, decorated with Helix shells and pieces of a white clayey stone. 

 In the centre of the run was a circular depression about 4 inches in 

 diameter, filled with fresh and rotting green fruit, |-inch long by -^-inch 

 in diameter. 



