THE SPOTTED BOWER BIRD. 359 



Why these birds should trouble themselves to make this bower 

 is a problem as yet unsolved. Had the structure served in any 

 way as a protection from the weather, there would have been a 

 self-evident reason for its existence ; but the arching twigs are put 

 together so loosely that they can not protect the birds from wind 

 or rain. Whatever may be the object of the bower, the birds are 

 so fond of it that they resort to it during many hours of the day, 

 and a good bower is seldom left without a temporary occupant. - 



Ornament is also employed by the Bower Bird, both entrances 

 of the bower being decorated witn bright and shining objects. 

 The bird is not in the least fastidious about the articles with which 

 it decorates its bower, provided only that they shine and are con- 

 spicuous. Scraps of colored ribbon, shells, bits of paper, teeth, 

 bones, broken glass and china, feathers, and similar articles, are 

 in great request, and such objects as a lady's thimble, a tobacco- 

 pipe, and a tomahawk have been found near one of their bowers. 

 Indeed, whenever the natives lose any small and tolerably porta- 

 ble object, they always search the bowers of the neighborhood, 

 and frequently find that the missing article is doing duty as deco- 

 ration to the edifice. 



This species is more plentiful than another Bower Bird which 

 will presently be described. As is the case with many birds, the 

 adult male is very different from the young male and the female 

 in his coloring. His plumage is a rich, deep purple, so deep in- 

 deed as to appear black when the bird is standing in the shade. 

 It is of a close texture, and glossy as if made of satin, presenting 

 a lovely appearance when the bird runs about in the sunbeams. 

 The specific name, Holosericeus, is composed of two Greek words 

 signifying all silken, and is very appropriate to the species. The 

 female is not in the least like the male, her plumage being almost 

 uniform olive-green, and the young male is colored in a similar 

 manner. 



Another species of Bower Bird inhabits New South Wales, 

 and, on account of its variegated plumage, is called the Spotted 

 Bower Bird (Chlamydera maculata). 



The bower which is built by this bird is of very great compar- 

 ative size, being sometimes a full yard in length, and the arches 

 higher than those of the previous species. Long grass is plenti- 

 fully interwoven among the twigs, and the decorations of stones, 

 shells, and feathers extend to a considerable distance from either 



