DWELLINGS 1627 



the site that the whole was so arranged that a fork 

 was within reach to sustain the roof. He thus con- 

 structs a very sufficient shelter. 



The Troglodytes calvus, a relative of the preced- 

 ing, inhabiting the same regions, as described by Du 

 Chaillu, shows still more skill in raising his roof. 

 A tree is always chosen for support. He breaks off 

 boughs and fastens them by one end to the trunk, by 

 the other to a large branch. To fix all these pieces 

 he employs very strong creepers, which grow in 

 abundance in his forests. Above this framework, 

 which indicates remarkable ingenuity, the animal 

 piles up large leaves, forming in layers well pressed 

 down and quite impenetrable to the rain. The whole 

 has the appearance of an open parasol. The ape sits 

 on a branch beneath his handiwork, supporting him- 

 self against the trunk with one arm. He has thus an 

 excellent shelter against the midday sun as well as 

 against tropical showers. 



There exists in Australia a bird with very curious 

 customs. This is the satin bower-bird. The art dis- 

 played in this bird's constructions is not less inter- 

 esting than the sociability he gives evidence of, and 

 his desire to have for his hours of leisure a shelter 

 adorned to his taste. The bowers which he con- - 

 structs, and which present on a small scale the ap- 

 pearance of the arbors in our old gardens, are places 

 for reunion and for warbling and courtship, in which 

 the birds stay during the day, when no anxiety leads 

 them to disperse. They are not, properly speaking, 

 nests built for the purpose of rearing young; for at 

 the epoch of love each couple separates and constructs 



