THE BOWEB BIRD. 



357 



ized races, and it is somewhat startling to find that in erecting a 

 ballroom, or aa assembly-room, or any similar building, we have 

 been long anticipated by a bird which was unknown until within 

 the last few years. Truly nothing is new under the sun. 



The ballroom, or " bower," which this bird builds is a very re- 

 markable erection. Its general form can be seen by reference to 

 the illustration, but the method by which it is constructed can 

 only be learned by watching the feathered architect at work. 

 Fortunately there are several specimens of this bird at the Zoo- 

 logical Gardens, and I have often been much interested in seeing 

 the bird engaged in its labors. 





The Bower Bird. 



Whether it works smartly or not in its native land I can not 

 say, but it certainly does not hurry itself in this country. It be- 

 gins by weaving a tolerably firm platform of small twigs, which 

 looks as if the bird had been trying to make a door-mat and had 



