The Gardener Bower-bird 



143 



rosy fruits, probably of a scitamineous plant, and beautiful 

 rosy flowers of a splendid new Vacciniuiii, now known as 

 Agapetes aiiiblyormtlndis. There were also fungi and 

 mottled insects placed on the turf As soon as the objects 

 are faded, they are moved to the back of the hut." 



The range of the Gardener Bower-bird extends from 

 the Arfak Mountain in North-western New Guinea along 

 the ranges which form the backbone of that great island, 

 to Mount Victoria in the Owen Stanley mountains in south- 



t. Formation of twigs. :i. Centre pole, wItK structure of twigs. 



2. Moss. 4- liower 



(From a sketch by Sir William McGregor, published in the Queensland Blue Book for 1892.) 



eastern New Guinea. In the Astrolabe Range of the 

 latter chain is found a second species of Gardener-bird, 

 known a.s Amblyomis subalai'is. It is orange-crested like 

 the Arfak species, and has a similarly dull-coloured female. 

 Sir William McGregor, the Governor of British New 

 Guinea, discovered the bower of this bird, which seems to 

 be quite as wonderful a structure as that of the other 

 Gardener-bird. He describes it as follows — " This bower 

 is built of twigs arranged in the shape of a shallow 

 basin, about three feet in diameter, the side being some six 

 inches higher than the centre. The whole of the basin is 



