morning I took colours, brushes, pencils, and gun, and went to the spot. I there made the sketch which 
I now publish. While I was there neither host nor hostess was at home. I could not wait for them. 
My hunters saw them entering and going out, when they watched their movements to shoot them. I could 
not ascertain whether this bower was occupied by one pair or by several pairs of birds, or whether the 
sexes were in equal or unequal numbers — whether the male alone was the builder, or whether the wife 
assisted in the construction. I believe, however, that such a nest lasts for several seasons. 
“ The Amblyornis selects a flat even place around the trunk of a small tree that is as thick and as high as 
a walking-stick of middle size. It begins by constructing at the base of the tree a kind of cone, chiefly of 
moss, of the size of a man’s hand. The trunk of the tree becomes the central pillar; and the whole building 
is supported by it. On the top of the central pillar twigs are then methodically placed in a radiating 
manner, resting on the ground, leaving an aperture for the entrance. Thus is obtained a conical and very 
regular hut. When the work is complete many other branches are placed transversely in various ways, to 
make the whole quite firm and impermeable. A circular gallery is left between the walls and the central 
cone. The whole is nearly 3 feet in diameter. All the stems used by the Amblyornis are the thin stems 
of an orchid ( Dendrobium ), an epiphyte forming large tufts on the mossy branches of great trees, easily bent 
like straw, and generally about 20 inches long. The stalks had the leaves, which are small and straight, 
still fresh and living on them — which leads me to conclude that this plant was selected by the bird to prevent 
rotting and mould in the building, since it keeps alive for a long time, as is so often the case with epiphy- 
tical orchids. 
“ The refined sense of the bird is not satisfied with building a hut. It is wonderful to find that it has 
the same ideas as a man ; that is to say, what pleases the one gratifies the other. The passion for 
flowers and gardens is a sign of good taste and refinement. I discovered, however, that the inhabitants 
of Arfak did not follow the example of the Amblyorms . Their houses are quite inaccessible from dirt. 
“ The Garden.— Now let me describe the garden of the Amblyornis. Before the cottage there is a meadow 
of moss. This is brought to the spot and kept free from grass, stones, or anything which would offend the 
eye. On this green tuft flowers and fruits of pretty colour are placed so as to form an elegant little garden. 
The greater part of the decoration is collected round the entrance to the nest; and it would appear that the 
husband offers there his daily gifts to his wife. The objects are very various, but always of vivid colour. 
There were some fruits of a Garcinia like a small-sized apple. Others were the fruits of Gardenias of a 
deep yellow colour in the interior. I saw also small rosy fruits, probably of a Scitamineous plant, and 
beautiful rosy flowers of a splendid new Vaccinium ( Agapetes ambly omit his). 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 good taste of the Amblyornis is not only proved by the nice home it builds. It is a clever bird, 
called by the inhabitants ‘Buruk Gurea’ (master bird), since it imitates the songs and screamings of nume- 
rous birds so well that it brought my hunters to despair, who were but too often misled by th t Amblyorms. 
Another name of the bird is ‘Tukan Kobon,’ which means a gardener.” 
When Mr. D. G. Elliot founded the genus Amblyornis, he separated it on account of the more exposed 
nostrils and from its having ten tail-feathers instead of twelve. When he wrote, only one specimen 
was known, and it has since turned out that Amblyorms has really twelve tail-feathers, two being deficient in 
the original specimen. The difference in the feathering over the nostrils is only one of degree, but, as Count 
Salvador - ! has pointed out, there are other good characters, such as the shape of the bill, with its smooth 
tomium, and the want of scutellations on the tarsus, which distinguish Amblyornis. One of the most striking 
of the characters in the genus is the similarity in colour of the sexes. 
Adult. General colour above brown, rather more reddish on the head and mantle; wing-coverts like the 
back ; quills and tail dusky brown, externally like the back ; lores and sides of face dull brown ; throat and 
under surface of body orange-brown, rather lighter on the abdomen ; sides of breast washed with the same 
brown as the back ; axillaries and under wing-coverts brighter orange-buff ; quills light brown below, pale 
buff along the edge of the inner web : “ bill black ; feet pale lead-colour ; iris chestnut ” {O' Albertis). Total 
length 9‘5 inches, eulmen Tl, wing 5 05, tail 34, tarsus 1*4. 
The female is similar to the male in colour. 
The description and figure are taken from a specimen in the British Museum, formerly in the Gould 
Collection. The “ bow’er” is drawn from the materials published by Dr. Beccari. 
