756 The Sparrow-like Birds 



fallen log or moss-covered rock. A space is cleared in the undergrowth from 

 two to three feet in diameter, which is covered with a layer of thin sticks and 

 twigs to a depth of three inches. In the center of this platform, which is slightly 

 higher and slopes gradually to the sides, two parallel walls formed of thin, curved 

 sticks and twigs are built, the base of the walls being thicker, and the inner 

 portion of the bower resembling in form an inverted horseshoe. Great varia- 

 tion exists in the shape and size of these walls, which at base measure from 

 ten inches to two feet in length, and are as a rule narrower at the top, twelve 

 to fourteen inches in height, and externally ten to twelve inches in width at 

 the entrance. Internally they measure at either end from four to six inches, 

 which gradually widen out in the center of some from six to eight inches. Scat- 

 tered over the platform are loose twigs, and about the entrance of the bower 

 bits of bleached bone, land shells, pieces of moss, berries, and bright feathers, 

 one or more of the latter, and chiefly the rigid wing- or tail-feathers of Pennant's 

 and the Rose-bill Parakeets, being worked into the sides of the bower. Since 

 the advent of settlers in Australia, any bright or glistening article is used by 

 these birds to ornament their playgrounds. A bower which was tenanted by 

 several birds the greater part of the year, and close to the house where I stayed 

 during my visit, was, with the exception of a few land shells, entirely decorated 

 by bits of broken crockery and glassware. Another was ornamented with a 

 few bits of green moss, dead leaves, and dried sprays of flowers. At these 

 bowers or avenue-like structures the sexes meet and disport themselves, chasing 

 one another through their playground and stooping now and again to alter or 

 add some new decoration. The male assumes at times some grotesque atti- 

 tudes. With head lowered, feathers of the neck erect, and tail-feathers ex- 

 panded, they move about the bower or pay attention to the females, more espe- 

 cially during the pairing season." The nest of this species - a rather bulky 

 affair of long thin twigs and lined with eucalyptus leaves is placed in the 

 fork of a bush or tree from six to forty feet from the ground. i*he eggs, usually 

 two in number, are very variable, but generally are rich cream-color, uniformly 

 spotted, blotched, and dotted with brown. 



Regent and Newton's Bower-birds. It would be interesting, had we the 

 space, to give accounts of all of these wonderful birds, but we can only make a 

 passing reference to a few, among them the Regent Bower-bird (Sericulus 

 melinus), which is the most beautifully plumaged bird known in Australia. 

 About ten inches long, the male has the head, hind neck, and mantle bright 

 orange-yellow, the back, rump, upper tail-coverts, upper wing-coverts, the two 

 first primaries, and the lower parts black, and the inner quills and outer sec- 

 ondaries orange-yellow. The bill is yellow, the legs and feet black, and the iris 

 straw-white. The female is slightly larger and is mainly brown above and dull 

 whitish below. The bowers of this species are said to be smaller and more 

 primitive than those of any other species, being only about ten inches by ten, 

 and decorated with small land shells only. Quite in contrast with this is the 

 huge structure made by Newton's Bower-bird (Prionodura neivloniana), a hand- 

 some species discovered in northeastern Queensland in 1882. The male is 



