336 THE SATIN BOWER BIRD. 
shelter of the branches of some overhanging tree in the most retired part of 
the forest; they differ considerably in size, some being larger, while others 
are much smaller. The base consists of an exterior and rather convex plat- 
form of sticks, firmly interwoven, on the centre of which the bower itself is 
built. This, like the platform on which it is placed and with which it is 
interwoven, is formed of sticks and twigs, but of a more slender and flexible 
description, the tips of the twigs being so arranged as to curve inwards and 
nearly meet at the top ; in the interior of the bower, the materials are so placed 
that the forks of the twigs are always presented outwards, by which arrange- 
ment not the slightest obstruction is offered to the passage of the birds. 
“ For what purpose these curious bowers are made is not yet, perhaps, fully 
understood; they are certainly not used as a nest, but as a place of resort 
for many individuals of both sexes, who when there assembled run through 
and round the bower in a sportive and playful manner, and that so frequently 
that it is seldom entirely deserted. 
“The interest of this curious bower is much enhanced by the manner in 
which it is decorated, at and near the entrance, with the most gaily coloured 
articles that can be collected, such 
as the blue tail-feathers of the Rose 
Hill and Lory Parrots, bleached 
bones, the shells of snails, &c. Some 
of the feathers are stuck in among 
the twigs, while others, with the 
bones and shells, are strewed about 
near the ertrance. The propensity 
of these birds to fly off with any 
. attractive object is so well known 
that the blacks always search the 
runs for any missing article.” 
So persevering are these birds in 
carrying off anything that may strike 
their fancy, that they have been 
known to steal a stone tomahawk, 
some blue cotton rags, and an old 
tobacco-pipe. Two of these bowers 
are now in the nest-room of the 
British Museum, and at the Zoolo- 
gical Gardens the Bower Bird may 
be seen hard at work at its surface, 
SATIN BOWER BIRD.—(Péilonorhynchus fastening the twigs or adorning the 
holosericeus.) entrances, and ever and anon running 
through the edifice with a curious 
loud full cry that always attracts the attention of a passer-by. The Satin 
Bower Bird bears confinement well, and although it will not breed in 
captivity, it is very industrious in building bowers for recreation. 
The food of this bird seems to consist chiefly of fruit and berries, as the 
stomachs of several specimens were found to contain nothing but vegetable 
remains. Those which are caged in Australia are fed upon rice, fruit, 
moistened bread, and a very little meat at intervals, a diet on which they 
thrive well. The plumage of the adult male is a very glossy satin-like 
purple, so deep as to appear black in a faint light, but the young males and 
the females are almost entirely of an olive-green. ele 
WE now come to the true Starlings. In these birds the bill is _almost 
straight, tapering and elongated, shghtly flattened at the top, and with a 
hardly perceptible notch, 
