SERICULUS MELINUS.
REGENT BIRD.
YELLOW-BELLIED THRUSH, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp. (1 801) vol.ii. p. 187. sp, 31.
TURDUS MELINUS, la th . Gen. SynrSupp. (1 801) p. xliT. .
GOLDEN-CROWNED HONEY-EATER, Lath. Gen. Hist. vol. iv. p. 184 ( 1822) .
SERICULUS REGENS,.Less. Zool. de la Coquil.(1826), Atlas, pi. 20, $ .rsl'd. Man. d’Orn. tom. i. p. 256.—Id. Ois. Farad. (1835), Syn. p. 2 1 ;
Hist. Nat. p. 204, pis. 26 & 27;.—Id. Trait.' Ornith. (1 831) t. ii. p, 340. '
MELIPHAGA CHRYSOCEPHALA, Lewin, Birds New Holl. (1 8 2 8 ) pi. I.
SERICULUS MAGNIROSTRIS, Gould, Proe. Zool. Soc. (1 837) p. 145.
ARIOLUS REGENS, Temm. Plan. Color. (1828) yoL iL-pl. 320.—Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l’Uranie (1 824), Atlas, pi. 22.—Cuy. Regn. Anim.
(18, ) t. i. p. 380.
SERICULUS CHRYSOCEPHALUS, Swains. Zool. Joum. (1 825) yol. i. p. 478.—Vig. & Horsf. Trans. lin n . Soc. yol. xv. p. 326.—Jard. & Selby,
' Ulus. Ornith. vol. ¡.p is. 1 8 ,1 9 , 20.—Swains. Class. Birds (1 837), yol. ii. p. 238.—Less. Trait. Ornith. (1 831) p. 340.—Shaw, Gen. ZooL
yol. xiv. p. 266.—Gould, Birds of Austr. yoL iv. pi.—Gray, Gen. Birds, yol. i, p. 233.—Id. List Gen. Birds, 2nded. p. 38.—Gould. Hand-b.
Birds Austr. yol. i. p. 456 ( 1 8 6 5 ) /
SERICULUS MELINUS, Schleg.-Mus. Pays-Bas (1 867), p, 99.—Gray, Hand-1. Birds (1 869), pt. i. p. 293. sp. 4333.—Ramsay, Ibis (1866),
pp. 326 & 330, ■(1867.) pp. 416 & 456.—Newton, Ibis (1 870), p. 119.
H a b . Eastern Australia (G o ij ld e t a u c t . ) .
A m o n g all the species constituting the Australian avifauna there is none more conspicuously attired than the
one whose portrait is here given. Nothing could present a stronger contrast than the deep velvety black and
rich golden yellow which comprise all the colours o f its plumage ; and when upon the wing, ■ it is a most
attractive object. Eastern Australia is its home ; and, unlike many members of the Paradiseidae, able observers
have watched it in its haunts and made u s . acquainted with its curious, habits and economy. Like the true
Birds of Paradise, the- Regent bird has the head thickly covered with short stiff upright feathers, which feel
on pressure like soft rich velvety These feathers do not lie down, as is usually the case ; and this is one of the most
peculiar characters of- the true Birds of Paradise (P. apoda, P. minor, and P. rubra). In its habits the Regent
bird is also closely related to the various species of Chlamydodera, and like them .builds a bower, in which it
amuses itself with all kinds of strange antics. But it will be best for me to let those who have witnessed its
habits relate their observations in their own way. In his great work on the birds of Australia, Mr. Gould says
“ This beautiful species, one o f the finest birds o f the Australian fauna, is, I believe, exclusively confined to the
eastern portion of the country ; it is occasionally seen in the neighbourhood of Sydney, which appears to be the
extent , of its range to the southward and westward. I met with it in the brushes at Maitland, in company,
and feeding on the same trees, with the Satin and Cat Birds and the Mimeta viridis ; it is - still more abundant
on the Manning at Port Macquarie, and at Moreton Bay. I sought for and made every inquiry respecting it
at Illawarra, but did n.ot meet with it, and was informed that it is never seen there; yet the district is precisely
similar in character to those in which it is abundant, about two degrees. tp the eastward. While encamped on
Mosquito Island, near the mouth of the:river Hunter, I shot several, and observed it to be numerous on the
neighbouring islands, and particularly Bakers’ Island, where there is a fine garden, and where it commits serious
injury to the fruit crops.
“ Although I have spoken of this bird as abundant in thè various localities referred to, I must mention that at least
fifty out of colour may be observed to one fully plumaged male, which, when adorned in its gorgeous livery of
golden yellow and deep velvety black, exhibits an extreme .shyness of disposition, as if conscious that its beauty,
rendering it a conspicuous object, might lead to its destruction. It is usually, therefore, very quiet in its actions, and
mostly resorts to the topmost branches of the trees; but when two gaily coloured males meet, conflicts frequently
take place. To obtain specimens in their full dress, considerable caution is necessary ; on the other hand, females
and immature males are very tame, and, when feeding among the., foliage, appear to be so intent upon their