“These bowers were formed of dead grass and parts of bushes, sunk a slight depth into two parallel furrows, in sandy soil, and were nicely arched above; but the most remarkable fact connected with them was, that they were always full of broken sea-shells, large heaps of which also protruded from each extremity of the bower. In one of these bowers, the most remote from the sea that we discovered, were found a heap of the stones of some fruit which had evidently been rolled in the sea. I never saw any animal in or near to these bowers, but the dung of a small species of Kangaroo was always abundant close to them, which induced me to suppose them to be the work of some kind of quadruped.”
The circumstance of Captain Grey, never having perceived the birds near the runs, serves to show that it exhibits the same shyness of disposition as the other species.
Head and all the upper surface greyish brown, the feathers of the former with a shining or satiny lustre; the feathers of the back, wing-coverts, scapulars, quills and tail tipped with greyish white; on the nape of the neck a beautiful rose-pink fascia, consisting of narrow feathers, partly encircled by a ruff of satin-like plumes, the tips distinct, rounded, and turning inwards; under surface yellowish grey, the flanks tinged with brown; irides, bill and legs brownish black.
In one of the specimens I possess, and which formed the subject of the upper figure in the Plate, no trace of the nuchal ornament is observable, a circumstance I conceive to be indicative of youth rather than a distinguishing characteristic of the sexes, since in the other species I find the mark common to both, but the young bird of the year without any trace of it.
The Plate represents a male and a young bird, of the natural size.
PTILONORHYNCHUS HOLOSERICEUS: Kuhl
J. & E. Gould del et lith. C. Hullmandel Imp.
PTILONORHYNCHUS HOLOSERICEUS, Kuhl.
Satin Bower-bird.
Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus, Kuhl, Beytr. zur Zool. S. 150.—Wagl. Syst. Av. sp. 1.—G. R. Gray, Gen. of Birds, p. 40.—Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 271.
Pyrrhocorax violaceus, Vieill. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., tom. vi. p. 569.—Ib. Ency. Méth. 1823, p. 896.