THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 179 



to be the most widely diffused plants in Australia. One 

 cannot look at a specimen of the Kangaroo-grass without 

 being struck with a kind of correspondence between the 

 great length of this elegant-looking grass and the leaping 

 powers of the kangaroo. 



There is a very pretty sight to be sometimes met with in 

 Australia (either on the plains, studded with Acacias (A. 

 pendula) and other small trees, or on the bushy slopes of 

 the lower hills), "namely, some very ornamental-looking 

 bowers, which, unless we had been told so, we should 

 never guess to have been built by birds. Their architects 

 are nevertheless some shy little birds (Chlamydera macu- 

 lata] called Spotted Bower-birds, not much larger than 

 our common thrush ; their brown feathers tipped with buff 

 on the back, and an elegant fan-like rose-pink crest of 

 long hanging feathers set at the back of the head. The 

 bowers are formed of twigs outside, and lined within with 

 tall, smooth grass (sometimes they are made of grass only), 

 which, by means of a stone very cleverly placed upon the 

 lower end, is made to stand upright ; the bending heads of 

 the tall grass nearly or quite meet overhead, so as to form 

 an avenue, which is ornamented with bones, shells, etc." 



We love to linger by the margins of rivers and sheets 



