Regent Bowerbird
Sericulus chrysocephalus
Small forest bowerbird. Males and females differ greatly. Males are black with stunning bright gold on the head and wings. Females are light brown with scalloping on the breast and back; they are much smaller and more lightly build than big, plump Satin Bowerbirds. Males have a bright yellow bill, while female’s is black-gray. Usually found in rainforest. The male builds a small open bower out of twigs and decorates it with small objects in order to attract a mate. This species is not very vocal and is usually only heard calling near a bower.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Sericulus chrysocephalus
- Authority
- (Lewin, 1808)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ptilonorhynchidae
- Genus
- Sericulus
Range and habitat
An Australian endemic, the regent bowerbird is distributed to rainforests and margins of eastern Australia, from central Queensland to New South Wales.<p>A rare natural intergeneric hybrid between the regent bowerbird and the satin bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's bowerbird.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
All male bowerbirds build bowers, which can be simple ground clearings or elaborate structures, to attract female mates. Regent bowerbirds in particular are known to mix a muddy greyish blue or pea green "saliva paint" in their mouths which they use to decorate their bowers. The male builds an avenue-type bower consisting of two walls of sticks, decorated with shells, seeds, leaves and berries. Regents will sometimes use wads of greenish leaves as "paintbrushes" to help spread the substance, representing one of the few known instances of tools used by birds. The female builds a saucer-shaped nest made of twigs measuring 30 cm high and 15–20 cm wide often away from the bower.
Conservation
A common species throughout its range, the regent bowerbird is evaluated as "least concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Papuan Grassbird
Cincloramphus macrurus
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