2706 
NATURE 
{JuLy 20, 1899 
“runs” of | 
it may | 
The 
As there may be a lingering idea that the 
these birds have some connection with nesting, 
be well to state that this is altogether a mistake. 
nests, of which beautiful examples are figured by Mr. 
Campbell, present indeed no special features, being 
built at a height of from ten to fifteen feet above the 
ground, and usually containing at the proper season two, 
or sometimes three, eggs. These latter, however, cannot 
“Run” of Great Bower-Bird. L ster ’ 
a (nron the Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh.) 
From a photograph taken in Western Austral 
fail to attract the collector by their porcelain-like polish 
and beautifully pencilled markings. Thanks to the 
energy of Australian ornithologists, the nests and eggs 
of most of the species are now known, although some are 
rare and difficult to find. as 
Among the more elaborate types of “runs” or “bowers,” 
the author figures those of the Satin Bower-Bird, the | 
NO. 1551, VOL. 60] 
Spotted Bower-Bird, the Great Bower-Bird, the Queens- 
land Bower-Bird, and the Regent Bird; the third of 
| these being herewith reproduced. The phetographs 
confirm previous Statements as to the two types of 
decoration employed in these bowers, the taste of the 
Satin Bower-Bird displaying itself in the selection of 
bright-coloured parrot-feathers, while the other species 
named prefer bones and shells. The Spotted Bower- 
Bird may be described as a col- 
lector of sheep’s bones (especially 
the vertebrae), whereas the Great 
Bower-Bird accumulates bleached 
shells. As is the case with the 
“Viscacherias” of the Argentine 
Pampas, in a Bower-Bird haunted 
country it is well to search the 
“runs” for any glittering objects, 
such as money or jewellery, which 
may have been lost in the neigh- 
bourhood. The amount of grass 
and sticks employed in some of 
these “bowers” js enormous, one 
structure being described as rang - 
ing trom four to six feet in height. 
In one respect Mr. Campbell 
does not agree with some writers, 
who have stated that the Cat. 
Birds (Aeluroedus) differ from 
other members of the group in 
that they build no bower, but con- 
tent themselves with clearing a 
space of ground. No such spaces 
have, however, according to our 
author, yet been observed : and it 
is suggested that the birds may 
merely play on some fallen log. 
On the other hand, the Tooth- 
billed Cat-Bird (Scoenopaeus) of 
North Queensland does undoubt- 
edly clear such spaces, upon which 
are laid at intervals a few leaves of 
one particular kind of tree. This 
represents the simplest type of 
“run,” the most complex being 
that of the Gardener-Bird (Am- 
blyornis) of New Guinea, which 
builds an orchid-covered hut, with 
a mossy lawn in front, ornamented 
with brilliant flowers and berries. 
As to the object of these strange 
structures, Mr. Campbell has no 
new suggestion to offer, and we 
may therefore conclude that he 
accepts the old ‘playground 
theory.” Reve: 
THE COSMIC ORIGIN OF 
MOLDAVITE. 
UCH attention has recently 
been devoted by Austrian 
and Bohemian geologists to the 
solution of an interesting question, 
that of the origin of those peculiar 
glassy bodies which are known col- 
lectively as moldavite or bouteillen- 
stein. It has been considered by 
some authors that these fragments are to be looked upon 
as representing the relics of prehistoric glass-manufacture; 
but, as recently noted in the columns of NATURE, Herr 
J. Bares has lately brought forward experimental proofs 
| to refute the theory of the artificial origin of molda- 
vite glass. Additional stimulus has been given to the 
study of this problem by the recent enunciation of a 
ia by Mr. H. H. Johnston. 
