ANOTHER TRIP TO THE SOLOMONS 151 



golden crests (which are much valued by the natives 

 for making their ceremonious head-dresses). Neither 

 the Bower-Birds on the lower slopes, nor the Bower- 

 Birds of the coast have these crests. 



The three different kinds of Bower-Birds have 

 entirely different habits in regard to playgrounds. 

 The mountain Bower-Bird builds a kind of spiral 

 staircase around a sapling. This is not very ornate. 

 The Bower-Bird of the lower slopes of the mountains 

 makes a very elaborate playground, which may be 

 compared in structure to a Kaffir kraal. It is covered 

 in with a roof, is surrounded with circular galleries, 

 and is carpeted most elaborately with beetle wings, 

 white snail shells and fragments of flowers. Usually 

 a very small tree is made the centre of the bower, and 

 the builder constructs from that as a centre his 

 bower with interlaced vines and branches. The 

 Bower-Bird of the coast builds a rough avenue which 

 he paves with white snail shells. The custom of the 

 male Bower-Bird to parade and dance in his bower 

 in order to attract the female of the species is familiar 

 enough and need not be described. 



In hunting butterflies in this district I had noticed 

 in regard to Papilios that usually you will get only 

 the females at the blossom-trees and the males at 

 water soakages. Very often of a particular species I 

 would get several males at water soakages and river- 

 sides, and never get a female until my collectors tried 

 the blossom-trees. 



