on the Hardihood of Gardener Bozver Birds, etc. 157


but an off-shoot from the larger aviaries, and consequently do

not give out much heat. When the blizzard of snow came in the

last week of December, 1908; one of these Bower Birds sat out

all day on an exposed branch, having on his head a cap of

frozen snozv ! The bird could have sheltered inside had he

chosen ; but he did not choose.


I take it that these birds are very solitary in their wild

state, for they do not agree together, and if one approaches any¬

where near the other, there are angry grating cries, not unlike

those of a Jay. They are extremely shy and untractable,

although the one that is always in the open part of the aviary is

becoming more docile. If however any stranger appears, the

bird is down amongst the bushes in a moment, and will sit either

on the ground or crouch beneath foliage, remaining perfectly still

and becoming quite invisible, it’s yellow-brown plumage, that is

dark brown with a yellow tinge, assimilating closely with the

earth beneath it.


Birds that are very timid, sometimes become extremely

bold. I am hoping for this change with my two specimens of

Amblyornis subalaris.


I lost a splendid A. inornata , at least I believed him to be

of that species, through the bird dashing wildly out of a bush

against the wire-meshing; whereupon he died of concussion of

the brain. A great shock to both him and me!


He ; for a post mortem proved his sex ; was decidedly larger

than the other birds, and his loss was a disaster, as he was with¬

out much doubt the only one in captivity, at any rate in Europe^


With regard to the birds at the London Zoological Gardens

being able to resist and thrive in the winter cold, as they can in

the purer air of the country, one feels doubtful. The air is un¬

doubtedly not so clean, and the begrimed fog on their feathers

must to a certain extent handicap them. They cannot derive

the same benefit from bathing, and if they peck about in a grass

enclosure, they pick about on very grimy grass! One has only

to look at Town Cranes in the Zoo, compared with Country ones.

The former never look really clean and glossy, whereas my

Manchurians are white as driven snow.


My pair of White-crested Touracos have practically passed



