SERICULUS. 



61 



and the outer secondaries orange-yelloro, black at the tips, the black tips decreas^ng vn s^ze towards the 

 inn...ost secondaries, u-hick are oranye-yeUo. ; lores, a broad line .ffoa^.rs ^^^^^^^^ '^ f^^ ^ 

 sides of the face, all the under surface, and under tail coverts black; bM yello.v; leys andjeet black, 

 iris siraw-^oldte. Total length in the flesh 10 inches, wing 5-1, tail SS, Inll 1, tarsus I'^o. 



Adult y^^.L^-General colour above brorcn; the feathers of the mantle and back with narrow 

 blackish edges and Me centres, those of the rump and upper tail courts .ith a ^J>^^^ J^f^^ 

 rohite near the tip : unngs and tail brown, the inner secondar^es unth a spot of wlnte at the tp o 

 I^Zr webs torehld, sides of the head, and hind neck, brownish-white with dusky edges to al 

 tZ^L; crown of the head and the lo.er hind neck black : chin and sides ,f .e threat dnM 

 broinisJ^white, the.feathers on the sides oj the lower throat dark brown wUh s.nal ^;~'' '^ 

 centres; centre of the throat black; remainder of the under surface dull wUte, thefeather. oJ the 

 :llssed in the centre and edged ^ith dusky-brown, those o,f the ^^^^^ ■'^-^^^ ^f^ '^^^ 

 under tail coverts having brown cross-bars, less distinct on the cent.. oJ abdomen and the u^d^^ .« ^ 

 coverts; bill blackish-bror.n ; legs and feet blackish-brown; iris brown. Total length ^n the flesh 

 10-5 inches, wing 3-2, tail 4, hill 1, tarsus O-JtO- 



Distribution.-Sonth-^^stem (lueensland, North-eastern New South Wales. 



-r^OR brilhant and richly contrasted plumage, 

 ir^ the adult male of the Re-ent Bower-bird 

 surpasses all other birds ni Australia. It is, 

 however, closely approached by the more 

 uniformly but gorgeously plunraged adult male 

 of Newton's Bower-bird, to which it bears some 

 resemblance in size and colour. The former, 

 characterised by Latham in i8oi as Tui'dus melinus, 

 was the first described of those birds now included 

 in the family Ptilonorhynchids, although its 

 bower-building habit was not discovered until 

 many years after. Newton's Bower-bird is the 

 latest addition to the family in Australia, being 

 described by Mr. De Vis as Prionoduva ncwtoniaiia 

 ,n 18S3. Although somewhat resembling each 

 other in colour, between these two species there 

 is a wide line of demarcation in the construction 

 of their bowers. The Regent Bower-bird builds 

 the smallest and most primitive structure of any 

 species belonging to the family, while that of 

 Newton's Bower-bird is the largest and most 

 jEsthetically decorated. 

 The coastal brushes of New South Wales lying between the Bellinger and Tweed Rivers are 



of the Mackenzie River, in Queensland, where Mi. J. A. Ihorpe secure }^ 



, ^ t „A fortVipr thnn the rich brushes about Uunmoan, iNauua, 



South, its present range does not extend farther than the r ^^ .^ 



and Gosford, on the northern side of the Hawkesbury Ruer. 1 ha^e never see 

 bmgound south of that river, although at the time of Gould's visit - "^^ ^ '^^^^^^^^^^^ 

 he sLes it was occasionally seen in the -igh^— ^e^o: er ^peSs, rh^ L„ 

 settlement, and the clearing and burning of the brush, like se^e F character of 



driven away from its old haunts. South of the "awkesbury^^^^^^^^^ ^ Ih o^ ^^^ ^^^ 

 the country and vegetation entirely changes, and with ^^e JxcepUon o p ^^.^^^ ^^^^ 



land near Narrabeen and Cowan, a similar luxuriant subtropical growth 



REGENT BOWER-BIBD. 



M 



