. The museum of natural history, with introductory essay on the natural history of the primeval world : being a popular account of the structure, habits, and classification of the various departments of the animal kingdom, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, shells, and insects, including the insects destructive to agriculture . ey adorn in various ways, andthen amuse themselves by running about and throughtheir edifice as if enjoying the pleasures of a I. The Satin Bower-bird—fig. 115—which is an inha-bitant of the forests of New South Wales, measuresabout thirteen inches in lengt
. The museum of natural history, with introductory essay on the natural history of the primeval world : being a popular account of the structure, habits, and classification of the various departments of the animal kingdom, quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, shells, and insects, including the insects destructive to agriculture . ey adorn in various ways, andthen amuse themselves by running about and throughtheir edifice as if enjoying the pleasures of a I. The Satin Bower-bird—fig. 115—which is an inha-bitant of the forests of New South Wales, measuresabout thirteen inches in length, and is of a brilliantblue-black colour, with the wngs and tail black, andthe bill and feet yellow. The female is of an olive a Y 354 colour, with tlie wings and tail brown ; the lower sur-face is streaked with black, and the front of the neckwith white. The bower of this bird is placed underthe sheltering branches of a large tree, and is describedby Mr. Gould as consisting of a large platform of sticks firmly interwoven, on the centre of which the truebower is raised, this being composed of tiner and moreflexible twigs so arranged as to curve over, and nearlymeet at the top; the materials being placed so that anyforks on the twigs may project outwards, thus leaving Fig. lie. <::^V. Bower of the Satin Bower-bird. a perfectly free passage for the birds through theirsingular edifice. This curious structure has nothingto do with the nest, but appears to be simply a placeof resort for numerous individuals of both sexes, whichplay about the platform and run through the archformed by the bower seemingly for the mere purposeof amusing themselves. These assemblies may, how-ever, be in some way connected with the courtship oftlie birds, although Mr. Gould states that the bower isseldom entirely deserted. The platform and its vicinityare always ornamented with a variety of objects, suchas shells and small bones, and the bower itself withbright col
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