In Rummaging About, I Came To A Place Strewed With
Old Bones, Shells, Parrots' Feathers, Etc., Close To Which Stood A Platform
Of Interwoven Sticks.
I was terribly puzzled at first to account for the
presence of this miniature rag and bone depot, and my astonishment culminated when Ferdinand informed me that -
"Bird been make it that fellow; plenty d - d thief that fellow, steal like it pipe, like it anything."
It then flashed across me that I had fallen in with the "run" of the
bower-bird, of which I had so often heard, and had so often sought for
without success.
The satin bower-bird ('Ptilonorhynchus holosericus') belongs to the family
of starlings, and though tolerably common in New South Wales, is but a rare
visitor to the hotter climate of Northern Queensland. The plumage of the
adult male is of a glossy satin-like purple, appearing almost black, whilst
the females and the young are all of an olive-greenish colour. The
peculiarity for which this bird is generally known, is its habit of
constructing a sort of arbour of dry twigs, to act as a playground. These
bowers are usually made in some secluded place in the bush - not
infrequently under the shady boughs of a large tree - and vary
considerably in size, according to the number of birds resorting to them,
for they seem to be joint-stock affairs, and are not limited to one pair.
The bower itself is somewhat difficult to describe, and a better idea can
be formed from the engraving, or by visiting the British Museum, where
several are shown, than I can ever hope to set before the reader in words.
A number of sticks, most artistically woven together, form the base, from
the centre of which the walls of the structure arise. These walls are made
of lighter twigs, and considerable pains must be taken in their selection,
for they all have an inward curve, which in some "runs" cause the sides
almost to meet at the top. The degree of forethought that these
self-taught architects possess is strikingly exemplified in the fact that,
whilst building the walls, any forks or inequalities are turned 'outwards',
so as to offer no impediment to their free passage when skylarking (if it
is not an Irishism, using such an expression with regard to a starling) and
chasing each other through and through the bower, to which innocent
recreations, according to the testimony of Messrs. Cato and Ferdinand, they
devote the major part of their time. Their love of finery and gaudy
colours is also most remarkable. Interwoven amongst the twigs of which the
bower is composed, and scattered about the ground in its vicinity, are
found bleached bones, broken oyster, snail, and cowrie shells, and not
unfrequently, in the more civilised districts, pieces of coloured rag, and
fragments of ribbon pilfered from some neighbouring station, for, in search
of attractive objects to decorate his playground, the bower-bird entirely
ignores the eighth commandment, and, I fear, justifies the somewhat strong
expression of "d - d thief" which Ferdinand bestowed on him.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 8 of 60
Words from 3598 to 4116
of 31542
