GREAT BOWER-BIRD. 
were frail structures, the egg in two cases being visible from beneath. 
Only twice did I see the female on the nest. When a nest has been robbed no 
further attempt at breeding appeared to be made. Eggs were found during 
January.” 
From Borroloola, Northern Territory, Hill wrote; “A fairly common 
bird in all localities. The bowers are generally built mider or near isolated 
shady trees or bushes, and are made more conspicuous by the piles of bleached 
land-shells at each end of them. January and February appear to be the 
nesting months.” 
Barnard’s long note from Cape York is here introduced: “ Nowhere 
plentiful, but a few playgrounds were observed under low, black, tea-tree bushes 
in forest country. Until my recent observations proved to the contrary, it 
was believed that one species of Bower-Bird {Chlamydodera cerviniventris) 
only inhabited the Cape York country. I have now proved that two species 
are living in close proximity, but that C. orienialis is the more generally distri¬ 
buted. A low' range of hills, running generally east to west, cuts off a strip of 
country, roughly about 10 miles long by 2 miles wide, at the northern extremity 
of Cape York Peninsula. This strip is fringed by mangroves, along the coast 
line, the back land being mostly low, and covered with white tea-tree 
{Mdakuca) rising rather abruptly into the range. Here Chlamydodera cervini- 
ventris makes its home, and I did not succeed in finding a single specimen to the 
south of the range. I noted the bird upon many occasions, securing both 
skins and eggs. I found C. orientalis in open-forest comitry only, while I saw 
G. cerviniventris only in the mangroves or tea-trees bordering same. I fomid 
several old nests in tea-trees. As C. orientalis is common about Cooktown 
and Townsville, and the same class of country extends on the west from near 
Cape York to these places, it is reasonable to presume that the bird will be 
found throughout the whole area. Whether C. cerviniventris is to be found to 
the east of the range, which starts from Orford Bay, south of Somerset, and 
cuts off a strip of country similar to that at the extreme north of the peninsula, 
remains to be proved. The bower of C. orientalis is composed of small sticks, 
forming a strongly-built arch about 12 inches high inside, 15 inches outside, 
length of run about 2 feet, inside of nm raised about 3 inches above the ground 
with sticks placed horizontally. For a space of about 2 feet right round the 
bower all grass and leaves are cleared away. One end only of the bower on 
the cleared groimd is decorated by sea-shells, a few large land-sheUs {Helix) and 
large berries coloured red or black. The bower is usually placed under a low 
bush. The birds are very noisy while using the bower to play in. The bower 
of C. cerviniventris is made of small sticks, not so strongly built as that of 
C. orientalis, nor do the sticks meet in a complete arch. Height about 
347 
