THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
of the native ginger. Mr. W. T. White told me of the following interestin 
trick he played on one of these birds. Finding one of their playgrounds he 
removed aU the leaves and replaced them with others closely resembling but 
of a different variety. Returning a few hours later, he found that the'bird 
had thrown out all the leaves he had put there and replaced them ^vith 
others of his own choosing.” 
Later, one of his photos was published with the note : “ You will see it 
was situated amongst a dense tangle of lawyer-palms, and we had to clear one 
side to get at it wdth the camera. The playgromid was large, very clean, and 
I counted seventy-five leaves on it, all fresh. At the back, amongst the sticks 
may be noticed some of the withered leaves which had been thrown out. The 
following note may be of interest. In the morning aU the birds were noticed 
low doAvn amongst the scrub, quite close to their playground, whilst towards 
sundown they were invariably perched high up amongst the topmost branches 
of the trees, but stiU in the immediate neighbourhood of the playground. They 
were always very noisy.” 
An interesting note by A. F. Smith reads : “ On 17th September I found 
a playground of this bird about two hours walk from Hambledon Mill, and 
decided to spend some time, later on, watcliing it, in hopes of getting some 
clue to the position of the nest. So on 22nd October I seated myself near 
the bower and watched the bird from ten tiU twelve. As lus cries seemed to 
be answered by another bird not far away, I then followed the sound and found 
another playground about 100 yards away, which I watched from twelve till 
three. Only one bird was at each bower, and, as their antics were the same, 
one description will do for both. Tliroughout the time I watched only one 
bird was at the playground, and he appeared to have no interest m anything 
but his collection of leaves. He would fly away occasionally for another leaf 
or some fruit, returning in two or three minutes, when he would place the leaf 
in position, upside down, have a look at the others to see if they were all right, 
but at no time played with them—and then fly away to a twig about eight 
feet above the leaves, and there perform ; but his repertoire w'as very limited, 
his favourite number being the harsh, scolding note of the Drongo {Chibia 
bracteata). Occasionally he would imitate the Rifle-Bird and the Little Thrush 
{Collyriocmcla parvissnnu), and he would frequently give a short, piercing 
whistle, which seemed to be his natural call. There is a mystery about these 
birds that will take some explaining. How is it that throughout the three hours 
that I watched him no other bird put in an appearance ? If the owner of the 
playground had a mate, it seems strange that she did not show herself. If 
his performance is to attract a mate, he is certauily a most persevering but 
unfortunate suitor, as he has been hard at it for two months to my knowledge. 
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