AN AUSTRALIAN BIBD BOOK. 
1^5 
Mr. A. J. North, C.M.B.O.U., the ornithologist of the Aus- 
tralian Museum, Sydney, and one of the greatest of living Aus- 
tralian ornithologists, has declared that "without exception, the 
bower-building birds of Australia are the most extraordinary and 
interesting group of birds found in the world." 
These wonderful birds construct, apart from their nests, play- 
houses — structures that "are perfectly anomalous in the architec- 
ture of birds." Gould considered the accounts of the "extra- 
ordinary habits" of the Bower Birds "as some of the valuable and 
interesting portions" of his work. Though the bird was known 
before Gould's time, its "extraordinary habits had never been 
brought before the scientific world until I (Gould) had the grati- 
fication of publishing an account of them after my return from 
Australia." 
This month I had the gratification of seeing the Satin Bower 
Birds playing about a perfect bower within one chain of a country 
school, and within one yard of a busy roadside. The birds have 
quite made friends with the school children. They have helped 
themselves to the blue flowers from the school garden, pieces of 
blue paper, and even a blue hair ribbon, besides blue parrot's 
feathers. These are used to decorate this very interesting play- 
house. 
Unfortunately, Satin Bower Birds are mainly fruit-eaters, and 
so will possibly do some damage, but they are amongst the 
wonders of the world, and it is hoped all will hesitate to shoot 
them, "for their highly-decorated halls of assembly must be re- 
garded as the most wonderful instances of bird-architecture yet 
discovered." The male gets his beautiful blue-black coat after 
he is seven years old. 
Many of the schools of South Gippsland can show Satin Bower- 
Birds regularly in attendance at lunch-time to gather the crusts. 
We have destroyed their native fruits, and should submit to some 
slight loss to enable young Australians to become familiar with 
the "most interesting group of birds" in the world. 
The members of the Crow Family — the Corvidae — were con- 
sidered the most highly-developed of birds — the most highly 
organized, so far as structure was concerned, and the mostintelli- 
gent. However, Sharpe has erected the seven Australian Bell- 
Magpies {Streperas) into a family which, in his Hand-List of 
Birds is placed at the top of the bird tree. 
In the Crow Family many well-known birds are placed. The 
Jays, Magpie, Daws, Rooks, and Nutcrackers of Europe are not 
represented in Australia. The Crows and the Raven, however, 
are represented by closely-related birds. 
It is important to tell the difference between the Australian 
Crow and the Australian Raven, for, we are told, the Crow is 
all that is good, while the Raven is the reverse. 
The ornithologists say it is easy to tell the difference. Just 
examine the down, say, on the neck. It is white in the Crow, 
but dusky in the Raven. Unfortunately, the birds will not 
always wait to permit an examination of the down. 
