luigs iiiT iilwiiys |iiTsciit((l oMtwiirds, l]_v wliich arriiiijjenieiit jiot the sliglilcst obstruction is offered to the
piissage <ti" the birds. 'Hie interest of this curious bower is much ctihaiiced by the inauner iu U'liich
it is decorated nith tlie most gailv-coloureil articles that can be collected, such as the blue tail-feathers
ol'the liose-liill and IViuiautian Parrakeets, bleached iioues, the shells of snails, A c . ; some of the feathers
are inserted auioug the twigs, while others with the boues aud shells are strewed about near the entrances.
'I'lie |iro|ierisity of these birds to lly olf with iny attractive object is so well kuowu to the natives, that they
always searcii the runs for any snuill missing article that may have been accidentally dropped in the
brush. I myself once found at the entrance of one of theui a small neatly-worked stone tomahawk, of
an inch and a half iu length, together with some slips of blue cotton r;igs, which the birds had doubtless
picked up at a deserted encam])ment of the uati^•es.
" It has !)een clearly ascert.iined that these curious bowers are merely sporting-])laces in which the sexes
meet, and tlie males display their finery, and exhibit nuniy remarkable actions; and so inherent is
Ibis habit, that the living e.taniples, which have from time to time been sent to this country, continue
it even in ca|itivity. Tho.se belonging to the Zoological Society have constructed tlieir bowers, decorated
and kept them in rej)air, for several successi\ e years.
" In a letter received from the late F. Strange, he says—" My aviary is now tenanted by a pair of
Satin-birds, which for the last two months have been constantly engaged iu constructing bowers. Both
•sexes assist in their erection, but the male is the principal workman. At times the male will chase
the female all over the aviary, then go to the bower, pick up a gay feather or a large leaf, utter a curious
kind of note, set all bis feathers erect, run round the bower, and become so excited that his eyes appear
really to start ti'om his head, and he continues o|)ening tirst one wing ami then the other, uttering
a low whistling note, anil, like the domeslic Cock, seetus to be picking up souiething from the ground,
until at last the female goes gently towards him, when, after two turn.s round her, be suddenly makes a
dash, aud the scene ends.' "
Mr. A. J. North writes to me:—"1 forward you a photograph that nuiy be of Lise to you in the
lireparaliou of yom- 'Monograph of the Ptihinorli\jiichidie, &c.' It is that of a perfect bower of PlUorwrhjM
hus tiokcms in the ¡lossessiou of the Trustees of the Australian Museum. It was found on the ground
iu the scrub near the Jeridau Caves, N. S. \\'ales, ii] December last, by Mr. J . C. Wiburd, and is built on a
platform of sticks aud twigs about three inches in thickness, aiul is composed entirely of thin tnigs slightly
arched, some of which meet or cross each other at the tO|). Near the (rout of it, on the right side of the
boHcr, is a tail-feather of PhUjcercus ekgam. It measin-es over all 2 feet in length, I foot in heiglif, aud
10 inches iu breadth ; interiudly 8 inches in height by 4 inches in breadth. Scattered about the entrance aré
twelve pieces of bone of a small AVallaby (consisting of jjortions of the skull, ear-bones, lumbar vertebras
and small bones of the feet), three pieces of moss, a spray o( Jmc i a blossom, some small .seed-cones of a
Encali/ptus, an egg-bag of a spider, six s])ccimens of a land-shell (which my colleague Mr. Charles Iledley
informs me is an unnamed aud remarkably keeled and depressed variety of The.riites guhm,
(iould), and one s|)ecimen of IMicanon terreauxi. The photogra])h shows the front view of the
bower only.
" T h e s e birds are at the ])reseut time commilting great havoc in the orchards iu the .south coastal districts
of the colony—probably from a scarcity of their normal food, owing to the late hush-fires and exceedingly
dry season."
I have also received from Mr. Dudley Le Souef the accompanying beautiful jthotograph of a bower
of the present species found by him near Melbourne.
Dr. E. P. Ramsay describes the eggs of the Satin Bower-bird as follows ;—
" The eggs vary iti proporlionate length, hut are usually long ovals, seldom even slightly swollen towards
the thicker end ; the ground-colour is of a rich cream or light stone-colour, spotted aud blotched with
irregular patchy markings, and a few dots of amber and sienna-browii of diiferent tints, in some almost
approaching blackish-brown, in others of a yellowish colour; the larger markings are, as usual, on the
thicker end, but a few appear with the small dots on the thin end. In this, the usual form, the irregular
short wavy lines previously mentioned seldom ap])ear except where the larger s])ots or blotches are
confluent; as if beneath the surface of the shell are a few irregularly shaped faint markings of slatygrey
or pale lilac. The eggs above described were taken from open nests composed of sticks and twigs,
ami lined with grass, by Mr. lialjih Ilargrave, at Wattarnolla, New South Wales."
The following descriptiotis are taken from my ' Catalogue of Birds ' : —
Adu/t male. General colour above aud below purplish black, the feathers having concealed greyish
bases; upper tail-coverts black, broadly bordered and tipped with purple; quills and tail black, the
feathers edged with purple: " bill bluish horn, passing into yellow at the tip; legs and feet yellowish white;
iris beautiful light blue, with a circle of red round the pupil" {Gould). Total length 12-5 inches, culmen I'4,
wing 6-6, tail 4-5, tarsus 2'15.
Adult female. Dirt'erent from the male. General colour above greyish green, with a shade of bluish
oil the edges of the feathers, the rump and ujtper tail-coverts greener than the hack ; lesser and median
wing-coverts like the back, the latter edged with whity brown along the tips ; greater and jjrimary wingcoverts
reddish brown, the iimermost secondaries shaded with bluish aud tipped with a bar of whity brown
like the secondaries ; tail-feathers golden brown, with a slight shade of bluish ashy on the centre feathers ;
lores and feathers round the eye a little browner than the head ; ear-coverts and cheeks ashy brown, thickly
streaked with yellowish-buir shaft-stripes ; throat ashy brown, with a tinge of greenish grey, and slightly
mottled with dusky greenish margins to the feathers ; remainder of the under surface pale yellowish,
the feathers all mottled with bars of blackish brown, tinged with bluish green, tbese bars less pronounced