HABITS OF THE JUNGLE-FOWL.

167

such, from observations Mr. Gilbert made, is probably the case. They also affirm, that the eggs are deposited at night, at intervals of several days; a statement which appears to be correct, as four eggs taken on the same day, and from the same mound, contained young in different stages of development. The fact, that they are always placed perpendicularly, is established by the concurrent testimony of different tribes of natives.

The Jungle-fowl is almost exclusively confined to the dense thickets immediately adjacent to the seabeach. It appears never to go far inland, except along the banks of creeks. It is either met with in pairs, or quite solitary, and feeds on the ground; its food consists of roots, which its powerful claws enable it to scratch up with the greatest facility, and also of seeds, berries, and insects.

These birds lay their eggs from the latter part of August till March. Their flight is heavy; and, on alighting on a tree, they stretch out their heads and necks in a straight line with their bodies, remaining in this position as stationary and motionless as the branch upon which they are perched. Their note or cry is said to resemble the clucking of the domestic fowl, ending with a scream like that of the Peacock. Their habits are particularly shy and retired.

It is impossible that the account of these birds should fail to interest every lover of nature. Mr. Gould has shown so much ardour and enterprize

in his researches, accompanied by so much good sense and discrimination in his varied pursuits, that he must always rank among the first of English Naturalists.

Curious and interesting as the account of the Mound-birds may be, we are still further indebted to Mr. Gould, for his having been the first to place upon record a still more extraordinary account of the Bower-Birds of Australia. I will first mentior the Satin Bower-Bird (Ptilonorynchus holosericeus.)

The principal feature in the habits of this bird is the fact (and it is one of no ordinary interest, both to the Naturalist and the general admirer of nature,) of its forming a bower-like structure for the purpose of a play-ground or hall of assembly; a circumstance in its economy, which adds another to the many anomalies, if not incongruities, of the Fauna of Australia.

These bowers are usually placed over the shelter of the branches of some overhanging tree, in the most retired part of a forest. They differ considerably in size, some being much larger than others. The base consists of an extensive and rather convex platform of sticks firmly interwoven, on the centre of which the bower itself is built. This, like the platform on which it is placed, and with which it is interwoven, is formed of sticks and twigs, but of a more slender and flexible description, the tips of the twigs being so arranged as to curve inwards, and nearly to meet at the top. In the interior of the bower,

THE SATIN BOWER-BIRD.

169

the materials are so placed that the forks of the twigs are always presented outwards, by which arrangement not the slightest obstruction is offered to the passage

of the birds. The interest of this curious bower is much enhanced by the manner in which it is decorated, at and near the entrance, with the most gailycoloured articles that can be collected, such as the blue tail-feathers of the Rose-hill and Pennantian parrots, bleached bones, the shells of snails, &c. some of the feathers are stuck in amongst the twigs, while others, with the bones and shells, are strewed about near the entrances. The propensity of these birds to pick up and fly off with any attractive object is so well known to the natives, that they always search

the runs for any small missing article, as the bowl of a pipe, &c. that may have been accidently dropped in the bush. Mr. Gould found, at the entrance of one of them, a small neatly-worked stone tomahawk, together with slips of blue cotton rags, which the birds had doubtless picked up at a deserted encampment of the natives.

For what purpose these curious bowers are made is not yet, perhaps, fully ascertained. They are certainly not used as a nest, but as a place of resort for many individuals of both sexes; which, when there assembled, run through and around the bower in a sportive and playful manner, and that so frequently, that it is seldom entirely deserted.

The proceedings of these birds have not been sufficiently watched, to render it certain whether the runs are frequented throughout the whole year or not. It is, however, highly probable that they are merely resorted to as a rendezvous or play-ground at the pairing time and during the period of incubation. It was at this season Mr. Gould visited these localities, when he found that the bowers had been recently renewed. It was evident, from the appearance of a portion of the accumulated mass of sticks, &c. that the same spot had been used as a place of resort for many years. A gentleman informed Mr. Gould, that after having destroyed one of these bowers, and secreted himself, he had the satisfaction of seeing it partially reconstructed. The birds engaged in this task were

THE SPOTTED BOWER-BIRD.

171

females. Mr. Gould, with much care and trouble, succeeded in bringing two fine specimens of these bowers to England, one of which he presented to the British Museum, and the other to the collection of Natural History at Leyden.

The Spotted Bower-bird (Chlamydera maculata) is peculiarly interesting, as being the constructor of a bower, even more extraordinary than the one just noticed, and in which the decorative propensity is carried to a far greater extent. It is as exclusively an inhabitant of the interior of the country, as the Satin Bower-bird is of the brushes between the mountain range and the coast. It has a disposition of extreme shyness, and therefore is seldom scen by ordinary travellers. Mr. Gould found that the readiest way of obtaining specimens was by watching at the waterholes, where they come to drink. On one occasion, near the termination of a long drought, he was guided by a native to a deep basin in a rock, which still held water from the rains of many months before, and where numbers of the birds, as well as Honeysuckers and Parrots, were constantly assembling throughout the day. This natural reservoir had probably been but seldom, if ever, visited by a white man, as it was situated in a remote mountain, and presented no attraction to any person but a naturalist. Ilis presence was evidently regarded with suspicion by the visitants to the spot; but while he remained lying on the ground perfectly motionless, though close to