4P. XIII. 
DECORATION. 
71 
G 
X Sower-bird, which was seen “amusing itself by 
<( ayiu g backwards and forwards, taking a shell alter- 
tl nate ly from each side, and carrying it through the 
f ar °kvvay i u its mouth.” These curious structures, 
a ° rnie d solely as halls of assemblages, where both sexes 
l^ 1 ’ 180 themselves and pay their court, must cost the 
fa s 111 uch labour. The bower, for instance, of the 
ehJ) n ' bleasted s P ecies > is nearly four feet in length, 
e teen inches in height, and is raised on a thick 
l atf orm of sticks. 
decoration ,'— 1 will first discuss the cases in which the 
, es ai ’e ornamented either exclusively or in a much 
^8 ier degree than the females ; and in a succeeding 
^ a Pter those in which both sexes are equally orna- 
8o en ted, ami finally the rare cases in which the female is 
the 6W ^ at more rightly-coloured than the male. As with 
So ai dificial ornaments used by savage and civilised men, 
^ 1G natural ornaments of birds, the head is the 
at t) Sea ^ <d decoration. 60 The ornaments, as mentioned 
div le . Comm encement of this chapter, are wonderfully 
l le ^. 1 ' 8 'ded. The plumes on the front or back of the 
Ca c °nsist of variously-shaped feathers, sometimes 
>Ul erec tion or expansion, by which their beauti- 
fy,. C r ^° Urs are fully displayed. Elegant ear-tufts (see 
s om , ante) are occasionally present. The head is 
hl l( U tilVJes cover cd with velvety down like that of the 
fl asa »t ; or is naked and vividly coloured ; or supports 
d’he ^kl’cndages, filaments, and solid protuberances, 
.oat, also, is sometimes ornamented with a beard, 
or 
geriej 1 ^ 1 Watt ^ es or caruncles. Such appendages are 
61 ally brightly coloured, and no doubt serv 
as 
See 
imal , to this effect, on the “Feeling of Beauty among 
s ’ by Mr. J. Shaw, in the 1 A 
‘ Athenmum,’ Nov. 24th, 1866, p. 681. 
