PTILONORHYNCHUS RAWNSLEYI. 



RAWNSLEY'S BOWER-BIRD. 



SERICULUS RAWNSLEYI, Diggles, Austr. Orn. pi. 



PTILONORHYNCHUS RAWNSLEYI, Gould, Birds of Austr. Supp. vol. i. pi.— Newton, Ibis, (1868) p. 348, (1870) p. 119. 

 Hab. Brisbane, Australia (Rawnsley). 



The bird here represented was described by Mr. Diggles from a single specimen killed near Brisbane, in Australia. 

 Its appearance would indicate it to be a bybrid between the Ptilonorhynchus violaceus and Sericulus melinm, rather 

 than a distinet species ; and I am strongly inclined to believe that this supposition will eventually prove correct. 

 Mr. Gould has given the following account of the history of the unique specimen, in the supplementary volume 

 of his ' Birds of Australia,' as recorded by its discoverer. "It may interest you," says Mr. Rawnsley, "to 

 learn the circumstances under which the bird was killed. A large flock of Satinbirds were feeding in the 

 garden around my house at Wilton, near Brisbane, on the 14th of July, 1867; and I had just shot an adult 

 black male, when my attention was attracted by, as I thought, another, which had alighted on a tree a short 

 distance off. Loading as quickly as possible, I fired and killed the bird ; as it fell, the yellow portion of its 

 plumage caught my eyes, and I made sure it was a Regent bird ; but on picking it up, I was, as you may 

 suppose, greatly astonished. The bird was quite dead, I instantly drew back the eyelid, and found that the iris 

 was of a pale sea-green, without a trace of the beautiful magenta tint which encircles and radiates from the 

 purple in the Satinbird. I took the bird to Mr. A. D. Gregory, the explorer and now Surveyor-General of 

 Queensland, who immediately recognized it as a species seen by him about the month of October, 1856." 

 " Mr. Gregory," says Mr. Diggles, " always took considerable trouble to distinguisb the different notes of birds 

 and cries of bush-animals, knowing that the natives frequently use them as decoy-notes or signals of commu- 

 nication; and his attention was drawn to the present species from its peculiar note, which was a prolonged 

 o-lmo several times very distinctly repeated in a minor key, giving it a very plaintive character. Mr. Gregory 

 states he had an excellent opportunity of observing its plumage, and cannot possibly be mistaken, and that on 

 mentioning the circumstances to Mr. Elsey, the surgeon and naturalist attached to the party, it became a matter 

 of discussion between them as to whether it ought to be placed in the genus Ptilonorhynchus or that of Sericulus. 

 The country in which it was seen was an open box-flat, with bigalow-scrubs in the neighbourhood." " It 

 certainly partakes much of the character of both the Satin and Regent birds," remarks Mr. Coxen; "but hybrids, 

 I believe, never occur in a state of nature, especially between members of different genera. Mr. Gregory is very 

 clear as to his having seen the bird on the Suttor ; he watched it some time ; and on his return to the camp 

 he mentioned it to Mr. Elsey, who, not having himself observed it, naturally imagined for some time that Mr. 

 Gregory had merely seen a Regent bird. Mr. Gregory told me it was its peculiar note that first drew his attention 

 to it, and that he could have made no mistake on the subject. I suspect, however, that he did make a mistake 

 (for neither the Satin nor the Regent bird gives utterance to such a sound), and that the note heard was that of 

 an adult black or an immature black-and-buff male of the Australian Koel (JEudynamis Flindersi), it being well 

 known that the Indian bird, which is probably identical, does emit a note similar to the one he describes." 



The specimen mentioned above, of which a representation is here given, is the only one that has been 

 obtained ; and it will be seen that it resembles the Satin Bower-bird in all respects, save the yellow hue upon 

 the wings and tail. 



