THE NATURALIST.

Otago Witness, Issue 2368, 20 July 1899, Page 54

THE NATURALIST.

Some Australian Bird?.

MOUND AND BOWER MAKERS.

Although Australia has 1 no native - song birds like the nightingale,, lark, thrush, linnet, or New Zealand's tui or bellbird (nioki), it possesses a great variety of- feathered species, several of great beauty, and many possessing features of interest. Among those found in New South Wales, the parrot is, perhaps, the most common. Several of these are peculiar to Australia, there be> ing over 60 species found in no other country. Among these are the cockatoo parrot, long-beaked white cockatoo, black cockatoo, forest parrot, and rosella. There are also the grass parrot, .Blue Mountain parrot, love bird, and gtound parrot. They are all •equally distinguished by the beauty and variety of their plumage,, the splendour of several species being unequalled. Among the latter is the crimson or blood-stained, cockatoo. The honey-eater is numerous, many of the genera being peculiar to Australia, if not t<; New South Wales. In not a few places the bower bird invites attention by reason of its building, in, addition to its nest a bower on the ground, adorned with shells and odds and ends picked up in the bush. No certain use has ever been assigned to this strange structure, save that it is used as a kind of playground, which is all that is known. Apart from this bower, the bird is remarkable for the extraordinary beauty of its plumage. There are several other birds which possess this strange habit of constructing bowers. There are two varieties of the moundmaking birds — Leipoa ocellata and Megapodius — which lay their eggs in a few leaves and twigs, surrounded with large mounds of sand scraped together by. the birds, the eggs being left to hatch themselves by the .heat of the compost heap in which they are embedded. The eggs of " Leipoa " are so thin that they could not be sat upon by the bird without being broken. The mounds are generally found in desert scrubs, the eggs being of laige size and much used as articles of food by bushinen.

The beautiful lyre bird is occasionally met with in the dense forests, but, being extremely shy, has to be hunted with caution.

Chinese Goldfish.— The rarest, most costly, most curious fish in demand for aquaria comes from China. Goldfish breeding is a specialty among the Celestials, the fish having been first introduced into Europe in 1611. They were then so costly that only Royalty could oavii them. Fancy prices are still paid for some breeds of Chinese goldfish. The " brush tail 'is the rarest of these, one having been sold in Berlin for more than £140, others having brought from £50 to£loo apiece. The Chinese keep secret their method for evolving brush tails on goldfish. The " egg fantail, which, like a chameleon, can change its colour, is another rare Chinese fish, as is the " telescope fish." This latter has huge eyes, that'bulgo like a telescope lens. Its flagon-shaped body is covered with silver scales, and its head is unlike that of "any other known fish. The telescope fish often sells for as much as £10. These prices put the highly- " cultivated finny fellows beyond the reach of any but the most wealthy collectors. Wild with Delight.— lf, from your babyhood, you were not permitted to use your feet, but on attaining full age were suddenly told to walk, what would happen? .We are not aware that the experiment has been tried, but a naturalist has attempted something akin to it. " I obtained, he says, " a young kittiwake gull and kept it in my house until the bird was fully gi-own. Its native cliffs, sea and sky were quite unknown to it. At length I took it to the door of the house and threw it gently from an elevation of 10ft. Instead of flying slowly to the ground, as I had anticipated, the bird sailed off a hundred feet at least, turned, flew back over the house and through the trees, avoiding obstacles, and soaring with perfect ease and very swift motion round and round the area of the house. Very soon, however, he began to approach close tc me and scream as if in distress. It was evident that he was tired, but did not know how tc stop. Finally, by suddenly throwing up my arms as he came towards me, I succeeded in arresting him. His excitement was very great, and he would have started again of his own accord if I had not held and quieted him He was wild with delight.". Prefer Them Wild. — Snakes have the sense of smell. It is difficult to obtain food for rattlesnakes and water-vipers. The owner of a small private collection has been trying them on the house-rats and mice he has caught about the buildings. He would leave these in the snake-cage over night and through the day. They would run over the snakes with impunity. The snakes irould pay no attention to them, but when he happened to secure some field-mice and put them in the cage the snakes ate them at once. He then put in several rats and mice of the ordinary house variety that he had caught -out of doors, and these were seized by the snakes almost as readily^ as the wild species. He then conceived the idea of making an earth -box to keep the rats in for -i while before feeding", and soon found that if they were put in there for 12 hours or so before they were given to the snakes they would be eaten. The only apparent explanation is that the smell s of the earth is desirable by the snakes, and that; the smell which the animals' acquire about buildings is objectionable.

— A woman's brain declines in weight afiai the age of 3&