iahie TOrmtiialankt i^oUmfit 



VOL. I 



GARLAND, ME., OCT, 1890. 



NO. VII r 



Tho Bower Birds and thtir bowers. 



BT UOUEKT R, SCORSO. 



Dame nature seems to have provided 

 man. aad all tlic lower animals thatem- 

 bellish our forost wirhsome Strang* hab- 

 ii not forgetting to give man the largest 

 share and di'iding the remainder 

 uuequaly among the lov. er animals of 

 the forest. 



The B#wer birds also reoeiev a full 

 share of this acceptable i^nft hy nature. 



TheBowerBirdsare Australian birds 

 «if the Starling family or Sturuida, the 

 first account of them was given by Mr. 

 Gould, i.i whose work on birds of Aus- 

 tralia was first given to tlie world 



They arc named from their strange 

 habit of making bow'er-like erections, 

 called runs. The strange part of it is, 

 that they adorn them with gay feathers, 

 rags, boQfcS, seashells, or any other 

 white or brigiit colored object that they 

 may find. These bowers are not nests 

 as some might think, but appear to be 

 places of much resort at the breeding 

 season in particular. 



As to the use made of them by the 

 birds is a mistery yet to be madc/;nown 

 The Satin Bower B\n\ {PtVonoahynch- 

 us holoaericens) builds its bowers am- 

 ong the branches of some tree, and ap- 

 pear to repair and use it year after year 



The base consists of an extensive 

 or rather convex platform of slic/cs 



firmly interwoven, on the center of 

 which the bower is built, of Liore flexible 

 twigs. It is near the enterauce that 

 the shells, feathers, bones etc., 

 employed for decoration are placed. 



The Satin Bower Birds are abundant 

 in the mountainous districts of New 

 South Wails, and are to be found in 

 all the woods from the mountains to 

 the coast. 



The adult male has the whole plum- 

 age of a deep glossy black. The colors 

 of the female are grayish-green and 

 brown, curiously mingled together. 



The Spotted Bower Bird builds much 

 larger and more avahue like than those 

 of the Satin Bower Bird : they are plac- 

 ed upon the ground, and are built of 

 twigs, and beautifully lined with tall 

 grasses so placed that their heads near- 

 ly meet each other. They are com- 

 monly built at the base of a large tree. 



The male assists the female in build- 

 ing and decorating them. 



Another Specia is the Great Bower 

 Bird {Ghlainydare nuchnlis^) much 

 larger than either of the others, and 

 very similar in form and plumage to 

 the Spotted Bower Bird, it has been 

 found on the North West coast of Aus- 

 tralia. 



It always adorns its bower with sea- 

 shells . even when f tr away from the 

 sea. 



