©ffirial ©rgan of the .^xistraksian ©nvithxjlogtste' Euion. 



" Bir^ls of a featbcr.' 



Vol. X.] 1ST OCTOBER, 1910. [Part 2. 



Additional Notes on the Tooth^billed Bower^Bird 

 (Scenopaeetes dentirostris)* of North Queensland. 



By Sidney Wm. Jackson, A.O.U., Chatswood, N.S.W. 



Turning to the living habits of the Tooth-bill, that of feeding 

 naturally presents itself for first consideration. Now, the diet 

 of the Tooth-bill is both mixed and rich, and he levies on the 

 varied resources of his dense scrub haunts with dainty dis- 

 crimination. Molluscs, insects, scrub fruits and berries furnish 

 his sylvan fare, as evidenced by the debris in his feeding grounds, 

 and (to the careful observer) by the component parts of his excreta 

 or the examination of his digestive organs. Probably we may 

 regard his most nutritious and favourite food as being the one 

 most common to the lush moisture of the northern scrubs — 

 namely, scrub molluscs or snails. 



There are not many peoj^le who know how great is the 

 variety of our scrub snails. The Tooth-bill knows, and fares 

 generously. Within and around the borders of many of 

 his leaf-strewn play-grounds I found and collected both 

 old and freshly broken remnants of the following land- 

 shells, viz. : — Helix franklandiensis, H. semicastanea, H. sheridani, 

 H. villaris, H. hellenden-kerensis, H. niacgillivrayi, and those 

 of four other species, which have proved to be new to 

 science. Helix niacgillivrayi seems to be an especial favourite 

 with the bird, as much from its richness as from the fact 

 that its rather delicate shell is more easily broken. It is found 

 I)oth on the ground and in the trees, and twice at least I saw a 

 Tooth-bill holding one in his beak. The shells, evidently broken 

 to furnish the bird's food, were found in great numbers in various 

 parts of the scrub {vide Plate I., Eimi, vol. ix., July, 1909) — a 

 fact which not only proves the bird's taste for these morsels, 

 but also shows that he often goes to one place to prepare 

 his food, and sometimes strictly localizes his rubbish-heap of 

 broken shells. His cousin, the Spotted Cat-Bird {Mliircedus 

 ni(icitlosiis), and the Noisy Pitta {Pitta simillima), who are also 

 snail-feeders, help to increase the pile. Not only is the shell of 

 this mollusc soft and easily broken, but, being also of small 



* See special issue of The Emu, June, 1909. 



