106 MATESHIP WITH BIRDS 



it builds its domicile and brings up its young in the 

 locality in which it has spent all the rest of the 

 year. The nest itself is a neatly-built structure of 

 bark, usually placed upon a bushy stump at a height 

 of three or four feet. Sometimes it is situated 

 quite close to the ground, and, in odd cases, it con- 

 sists simply of a few pieces of pliable bark woven 

 into the top of the deserted home of a Babbler. I 

 found many nests of the Bell-Bird in the Spring of 

 1914, some influence in that dry season evidently 

 encouraging this particular species to breed more 

 readily than usual. In October (the favorite month 

 for nesting) I tried many times to photograph the 

 shapely male bird at the nest. But the brilliant 

 eyes eyes as luminous as those of the Satin 

 Bower-Bird were too watchful, and never once was 

 I able to persuade their owners to sit for pictures. 



The most curious experience I ever had with the 

 peculiar nestlings of the Bell-Bird babies with all 

 the individuality of their parents concerned a pair 

 which came into being during a previous October, 

 in a nest placed upon a bushy stump. They were 

 uncanny little creatures. Though almost fully 

 fledged, the tops of their heads and a patch right 

 down each back were quite free of feathers, and, 

 instead of the usual wide-eyed stare of inquiry the 

 visitor gets from most young birds, the eyes were 

 tightly closed. Both babes, in fact, might have been 

 quite devoid of life ; but when I touched them lightly 

 there was a decided change of tactics. The eyes 

 remained closed, but the necks were outstretched, 

 the sprouting feathers on the forehead started, and 

 the heads waved in the air in exactly the threaten- 



