SOME BIRDS OF THE SCRUB-LANDS 
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Usually the bower built by this bird is a compact structure of closely inter¬ 
woven sticks and twigs, in fact so compact are the walls of the bower that 
they can be moved en masse. The decorations used about the bowers are 
mostly bunches of green berries. This species is an excellent mimic. 
Food: seeds, and native fruits and berries. 
Nest .—An open, cup-shaped structure, composed of sticks, twigs, and 
bark; lined with finer materials. Usually placed in a tree, at heights up 
to 30 feet or more from the ground. 
Eggs .—Usually one, pale creamy-white, covered with a tangled net¬ 
work 0 ? lines and hair-like markings of olive-brown, umber, purplish- 
grey, and blackish-brown. Breeding-season: September to December. 
12. Great Bower-bird Chlarnydera nuchalis Jardine and Selby 
nu-cha-lis■ —L., nuchalis, naped. 
Distribution .—Tropical northern Australia. 
Notes .—Usually in pairs or small flocks, frequenting the scrub, open 
forest, and mangroves. It is said to be less noisy and not such a good 
mimic as the Spotted Bower-bird. Its bowers are usually built in isolated 
patches of scrub; they average about 2 feet in length by 18 inches in 
width and 15 inches in height; often they are roofed over. The decora¬ 
tions usually consist of bleached shells of land-snails or pieces of bleached 
coral. Food: seeds, and native fruits and berries. 
Nest .—Like that of the Spotted Bower-bird, but often not so well 
built. It is generally composed of a few sticks and twigs, and placed 
in a thick bunch of twigs in a tree at heights up to 20 feet or more from 
the ground. 
Eggs .—One or two, pale greyish-green, marked, like those of the 
Spotted Bower-bird, with a tangled tracery of lines and hair-like markings 
of olive-brown, umber, blackish-brown, and purplish-grey. Breeding- 
season : September to February. 
