BOWER-BIRDS. 



55 



it must be under very peculiar circumstances that it can 

 be approached sufficiently close to observe its colours. 

 The Spotted Bower-bird has a harsh, grating, scolding 

 note, which is generally uttered when its haunts are in- 

 truded on, and by which means its presence is detected 

 when it would otherwise escape observation. When dis- 

 turbed it takes to the topmost branches of the loftiest 

 trees, and frequently flies off to another neighbourhood. 

 " In many of its actions .and in the greater part of its 

 economy much similarity exists between this species 

 and the Satin Bower-bird, particularly in the curious 

 habit of constructing an artificial bower or playing- place. 

 I was so far fortunate as to discover several of these 

 bowers during iny journey in the interior, the finest of 

 which I succeeded in bringing to England. It is now in 

 the British Museum. The situations of these runs or 

 bowers are much varied. I found them both on the 

 plains studded -with Myalls (Acacia pendula) and other 

 small -trees, and in the brushes clothing the lower hiHs. 

 They are considerably .longer and more avenue-like than 

 those of the Satin Bower-bird, being in many instances 

 three feet in length. They are outwardly built of twigs, 

 and beautifully lined with tall grasses, so disposed that 

 their heads nearly meet. The decorations are very pro- 

 fuse, and consist of bivalve shells, crania of small mam- 

 malia, and other -bones bleached by exposure to the rays 

 of the sun or from the camp-fires of the natives. Evi- 

 dent indications of high instinct are manifest throughout 

 the whole of the bower and decorations formed by this 

 species, particularly in the manner in which the stones 

 are placed within the bower, apparently to keep the 

 grasses with which it is lined fixed firmly in their places. 

 These stones diverge from the mouth of the run on each 

 side so as to form little paths, while the immense collec- 

 tion of decorative materials is placed in a heap before 

 the -entrance of the avenue, the arrangement being the 

 same at both ends. In some of the larger bowers, which 

 had evidently been resorted to for many years, I have 

 seen half a bushel of bones, shells, etc., at each of the 

 entrances. I frequently found these structures at a con- 

 siderable distance from the rivers, from the borders of 

 which they could alone have procured the. -shells and 

 small, round, pebbly stones. Their collection and trans- 

 portation must therefore be a task of great labour. I 

 fully ascertained that these runs, dike those of the 1 Satin 

 Bower-bird, formed the rendezvous of many individuals, 

 for, after secreting myself for a short space of time near 

 one of them, I killed two males which I had previously 

 seen running through the avenue." 



According to Gould a nest found! bv Mr. Charles 

 Coxen, of Brisbane, was built in one of the Myrtac.ea*. 

 overhanging a water-hole, near a scrub, on which a 

 bower was built, and was in form very similar to that of 

 the Common Thrush of Europe; but Mr. Campbell, 

 speaking of a nest which he found, says: "The nest 

 was loosely composed of sticks and twigs, and lined 

 inside with finer twigs and grass, and contained one fresh 

 egg, the most remarkable for beauty and the wonderful 

 character of its markings that it has ever been my 

 fortune to find." He thus describes the nest and eggs of 

 this species in detail (" Nests and Eggs of Australian 

 Birds," pp. 198, 199): 



" Nest. Flat, somewhat concave ; loosely constructed 

 of dead twigs or fine sticks; lined inside with finer 

 twigs and grass ; usually situated in a thick bush or 

 tree in open forest country. Sometimes the nest is s:> 

 frail that the contents may be seen through the struc- 

 ture from underneath. Dimensions over all of a good 

 nest 9 in. to 10 in., by 6 in. in depth ; egg cavity 4 in. 

 across by 2 in. deep. 



"Eggs. Clutch two, occasionally three; shape in- 



clined to oval, or long oval ; texture of shell fine ; surface 

 slightly glossy; ground colour light greenish-yellow. 

 There are three distinct characters of markings : firstly, 

 light greyish blotches appearing on the inner surface of 

 the shell ; secondly, small stripes or hair-like lines of 

 light sienna and umber, as if painted with a camel-hair 

 brush, in every shape and size round the shell, princi- 

 pally zigzagged latitudinailly, but often taking longitu- 

 dinal and other directions ; and, lastly, over these a 

 few darker and heavier stripes and .smudges of umber. 

 Both ends of the tgge are comparatively free from mark- 

 ings. Dimensions in inches of a proper clutch : (1) 

 1.64 x 1.04, (2) 1.63 x_ 1.06, (3) 1.56 x 1.04 ; a pair 

 with more of the yellowish-white ground, and with both 

 ends much freer from markings, measures (1) 1.57 x 1.06, 

 (2) 1.5 x 1. 07." 



A coloured figure of the egg is given on Plate IX. of 

 Mr. Campbell's work. It somewhat reminds one of 

 some varieties of the eggs of our Common Bunting in 

 colour and markings, but is, of course, considerably 

 larger, and perhaps the markings are more massed round 

 the middle of the egg than in any variations of the egg 

 of our familiar friend. 



Dr. Russ says that a specimen reached the Amsterdam 

 Zoological Gardens in 1870. In 1880 the late Mr. Abra- 

 hams received a. female, and a month later showed it to 

 Mr. A. D. Bartlett at the London Gardens, and he ex- 

 pressed the opinion that it would not live another eight 

 days, but Mr. Abrahams not only succeeded in keeping 

 it alive, but taught it to talk, its first word being " Joe," 

 the abbreviation of 'Mr. Abrahams' name, which the bird 

 often heard Mrs. Abrahams use. Later it learned to say 

 " pretty boy," then it mixed up the two and said 

 '"pretty Joe." The next accomplishment was to mew 

 like a cat and bark like a dog, and when asked " Where 

 is the cat? '" or if the words " Puss, puss ! " were spoken, 

 the bird would immediately begin to> mew. Two years 

 later Mr. Bartlett paid a visit to Mr. Abrahams, and 

 expressed his delight at the hardiness of the bird, and 

 asked to purchase it for the Gardens, so Mr. Abrahams 

 sold it to him at what he considered a reasonable price. 

 In 1882 he received a male, which also found its way to 

 the Gardens. The pair built many nests, but no eggs 

 appear to have been deposited. In 1888 Mr. Abrahams 

 again received a pair of this soecies, but it is un- 

 doubtedly rare in the market. Mr. Phillipps has pos- 

 sessed it. 



GREAT BOWER-BIRD (Chlamydcdera nucfialis}. 



Above grey-brown, the edges of the feathers being 

 greyish ; the upper tail-coverts also have a sub-terminal 

 whitish spot ; flights darker margined with ashy and 

 tipped with whitish ; tail feathers similar, but with 

 the tips barred with whitish ; feathers of head lustrous, 

 and with a minute whitish tip ; a rosy lilac band on the 

 nape, partly encircled by a ruff of silvery tipped brown 

 feathers ; hind-neck unspotted ; sides of head and under 

 surface sandy greyish, browner on flanks and thighs, 

 which are obscurely barred ; centre of abdomen and 

 under tail-coverts pale cream-whitish ; under wing- 

 coverts and axillaries grey -brownish indistinctly barred ; 

 bill, feet, and irides brownish. Female smaller and 

 without lilac band on nape. Hab. , Northern Australia, 

 from Port Darling and Port Essington to the north- 

 western district. (Sharpe.) Like the preceding species 

 this bird also constructs a bower, which it ornaments 

 with shells, etc. 



Mr. D. Le Souef (The Ibis, 1899, pp. 359, 360) says : 

 " Their bowers are large, being formed of twigs and 

 arched over at the top, and are from two to three feet 

 long, the passage through being about 9 in. wide, and 



