THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 141 



berries of the Inkweed, Phytolacca, which grows so profusely in 

 the clearings when unchecked. The morning's meal is over by 

 about nine o'clock, when numbers of the birds are seen going 

 back into the scrub, and during the heat of the day not one is 

 found outside. But when four o'clock comes round they are all 

 out once more, and feed till dusk. The Little Fruit-Pigeon comes 

 out singly or in pairs, but it is a sight to be remembered to watch 

 a flock of perhaps a dozen Regents, among them being perhaps 

 as many as four of the gorgeous males. The greater number, 

 however, are the drab and grey mottled females and immature 

 males. The female is distinguished by having the forehead and the 

 nape of the neck black. It is generally supposed that the young 

 male is three or four seasons old before it dons its full livery. 

 Occasionally a bird may be noticed that is undergoing the 

 change, and on the head and neck and in the wings the yellow 

 is beginning to appear. In flight the perfect male can be at once 

 distinguished by the golden-yellow patches on the wings. 



The Regent-bird belongs to the family of Bower-birds. Its nest 

 is merely a frail platform of sticks situated in a bunch of creepers, 

 and its eggs resemble very much those of the Spotted Bower- 

 bird, Ghlamydodera maculata, but to the ground colour instead 

 of being greenish is a yellow tint. Apart from the nest, the 

 Regent builds itself a bower or playhouse on the ground, and one 

 in use I had the pleasure of examining was a very neat structure, 

 situated within a circle of Lawyer Cane roots, in a clear space 

 about 4 feet in diameter. The walls of the bower, which were 

 about 8 inches long and 6 inches high, were fixed into a layer 

 or bed consisting of small pieces of stick so tightly trampled 

 down that they were quite compact. This bed was in the form 

 of an oval, measuring 22 inches across one way and 19 inches 

 the other. I may mention that this is quite an unusual addition, 

 for the walls as a rule are fixed into the ground, and a bed of 

 sticks of the dimensions just given is very rarely seen. The first 

 time this bower was noticed three birds, all drab-coloured, were 

 playing in it ; each carried an empty snail's shell, and in turn 

 went into the bower, and after bobbing up and down a few times 

 with half-opened wings would toss the shell out over the wall to 

 be picked up by one of the others, which would drop its own for 

 the purpose. The two birds remaining outside performed various 

 antics, brushing the ground with their wings, as a consequence of 

 which the soil within the enclosure of cane roots was quite bare. 

 This exhibition did not last long, for a dog appearing on the 

 scene, unfortunately, scattered the three interesting performers. 

 I visited the bower several times subsequently, but the birds were 

 not at home, and all I noticed was that three or four young 

 purplish-tinted leaves were placed in the centre, and the three shells 

 were laid near. I could see that each day the withering leaves 



