Page:Bird-lore Vol 01.djvu/365

The Bower- birds of Australia 137 on sandy pine ridges or when the myall and brigalow (species of acacias) flourish. This bird derives its name from the beautiful spotted markings of its plumage, which is of various shades of brown. The male wears on the back of the neck a band, or frill, of a most exquisite shade of rose-pink — a rare color in birds and only occurring in one other species (not a Bower-bird) in Australia. The Spotted Bower-bird has a harsh, scolding note, but it is not generally known that it is an accomplished mocking bird and can mimic the vocality of many birds of the bush, barking of dogs, etc. NEST AND EGGS OF THE REGENT-BIRD A farmer friend related to me an amusing story regarding the mimicry of a Spotted Bower-bird. His neighbor had been driving cattle to a given place and on his way back discovered a nest in a prickly needle-brush (hakea). In ' threading ' the needle-like branches after the ncst he thought he heard cattle breaking through the scrub and the barking of dogs in the distance, and at once fancied his cattle had broken away, but could see no signs of anything wrong. He heard other peculiar noises, and glancing at his dog as much as to say, "What does that mean?" he saw the sagacious animal with head partly upturned, eyeing a Bower-bird perched in the next tree. The nest is somewhat loosely constructed of twigs, and is usually placed in a thick bush or amongst the forked branches of a small tree.