THE KEGENT-BIED 421 



Genus Sericulus. 

 Bill at nostrils as high as broad. Brilliant black and gold 

 male birds. 



The Regent-bird. 



Sericuhis chrysocephalits. 



South-east Queensland and North-east New South Wales. 



Adult male: Head, neck and upper mantle rich bright velvety 

 orange-yellow; secondaries bright gamboge-yellow; the rest of plumage 

 deep velvety black. Adult female: Head and throat dull brownish- 

 white, the rest of the upper surface olive brown, the feathers of the back 

 with whitish marks near the tips; a large patch of deep black on the 

 crown; chin and sides of throat reddish, centre and lower throat black; 

 rest of under surfaces brownish white. 



This regal bird is restricted now to the brushes of the northern 

 rivers of New South Wales and South Queensland, and is 

 becoming scarcer and scarcer with the advance of settlement. 

 It usually resorts to the topmost branches of the trees, but 

 descends to feed on berries and wild fruits and insects. The 

 introduction of the pokeweed or inkweed (Phytolacca), though 

 a nuisance to the settlers, is a godsend to the birds, which feast 

 on the plentiful black berries. The males are extremely 

 pugnacious, and when in full dress frequently attack one another. 

 In flight the perfect male can be at once distinguished by the 

 golden yellow patches on the wings. The only calls of the 

 Regent-bird are a single whistle, and a squeaky "whit whit" 

 when alarmed. 



The bower is less dome-shaped, and straighter in the sides, 

 than that of the Satin Bower-bird, and has a much smaller plat- 

 form, and the inside of the bower is smaller. Mr. A. Campbell, 

 junr., gives the following description of one which he examined 

 in the Richmond River district. It "was a very neat structure, 

 situated within a circle of Lawyer Palms, in a clear space about 

 four feet in diameter. The walls of the bower, which were above 

 eight inches long and six inches high, were fixed into a layer 

 or bed consisting of small pieces of stick so tightly trampled 

 down that they were quite compact. This bed was in the form of 

 an oval, measuring 22 inches across one way and 19 inches the 

 other. I may mention that this is quite an unusual addition, for 

 the walls as a rule are fixed into the ground, and a bed of sticks 

 of the dimensions just given is very rarelj^ seen. The first time 



