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occupation as not to heed the approach of an intruder ; I have occasionally stood beneath a low tree, not more th»m
fifteen feet high, with at least ten feeding voraciously above me.
“ I did not succeed in discovering the nest; but the late F. Strange, writing from Moreton Bay, inform^ me that
it ‘is rudely constructed of sticks, no other material being employed, not even a few roots as a lining. On the
4th of November I observed one building, and, as I was leaving for the Richmond the next day, I gave instructions
that it should be taken fifteen days after; when the time arrived, however, no native could be got to secure it; and
it remained till my return on the 4th December. I then sent a native up; and he brought me the nest, with two
young ones covered with down, except the wings, which were feathered. As the two birds quite .filled the nest,
and I have heard of other nests being taken with the same number of birds in them, I am inclined to believe
that two is the normal number of eggs laid. After taking the young, I wounded and succeeded in capturing the
old bird, which, after being two days in confinement, became reconciled to captivity, attended to her progeny, fed
them, and removed the dirt that accumulated in the nest The eggs are still a desideratum ; and their acquisition
would be a source of much gratification to me.’ C. Coxen, Esq., of Brisbane, gave the following, account of this
species at a meeting of the Queensland Philosophical Society in 1864, making us acquainted with a habit of this
bird never previously suspected. ‘Although the Regent bird has been known to ornithologists for many years,
very little of its habits has become known, and it has been left for me to bring under your notice the very
peculiar and curious habit it has in common with the Satin bird (Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus) and the Spotted
Bower-bird (<Cìlamydodera maculata). My attention was called to this peculiarity in August last by Mr. Waller,
taxidermist, o f Edward-street, in this city, to whose untiring energy and ability as a collector I must always bear
testimony. Mr. Waller informed me that, while shooting in a scrub on the banks of the Brisbane river, he saw a
male Regent bird playing on the ground, jumping up and down, puffing out its feathers, and rolling about in a
very odd manner, which occasioned much surprise, he never having seen the bird on the ground before. The spot
where it was playing was thickly covered with small shrubs. Not wishing to lose the opportunity o f procuring a
specimen, he fired, but only succeeded in wounding it ; and on searching the spot, he found a bower formed
between, and supported by, two small brush plants, and surrounded by small shrubs, so much so that he had to
creep on his hands and knees to get to it. While doing so, the female bird came down from a lofty tree, uttered
her peculiar note, and lit on a branch immediately over the bower, apparently with the intention o f alighting in
front of it, but was scared away on seeing Mr. Waller so close to her. She continued flitting over the place and
calling for her mate so long as he was in the neighbourhood. Mr. Waller believes that the male bird, after being
wounded, fluttered to some distance from the bower and died, as a male Regent bird was found dead two days afterwards
in a more open part of the brush. On visiting the scrub on the following and several successive days, the
female bird was seen in the locality of the bower, and, by her constant calling, was apparently lamenting the loss, or
what might seem to he the inconstancy, of her mate. The ground around the bower was clear of leaves for some twelve
or eighteen inches, and had the appearance of having been swept, the only objects in its immediate vicinity being
a small specimen of helix. The structure was alike at both ends; but the part designated as the front was more
easy of approach, and had the principal decorations, the approach to the back being more closed by scrub. Mr.
Waller being desirous that this curious habit of the Regent bird should be verified, determined to leave the bower
untouched until he had acquainted me with his discovery. Circumstances occurred to prevent me from accompanying
him to its whereabouts until the following November, when we found the bower in good preservation. Previous to
my seeing and examining the structure, I must confess to having had considerable doubts as to whether it would not
prove to be a bower of the Satin bird; but these doubts were dissipated at the first glance, the formation of the
structure differing considerably, and the decoration more so. With Mr. Waller’s assistance I removed the building
without injuring or in any way defacing its architectural style. It may not be inopportune for me to state that I
was the first to discover the bower and habits of the Satin bird, and also among the first discoverers of the bower
of the Spotted Bower-bird, that I have had frequent opportunities of seeing them in the New-South-Wales brushes
and the myall scrubs to the westwards, and am consequently conversant with their peculiarities. The bower of
the Regent bird differs from the Satin bird’s in being less domed-shaped, straighter in the sides, platform much less
(being only ten inches by ten), but thicker in proportion to its area, twigs smaller and not so arched, and the
inside of the bower smaller— indeed, I believe, too small to admit an adult Satin bird without injury to its
architecture. The decorations of the bower are uniform, consisting only of a small species o f helix, herein forming
S E R I C U L U S ME L INUS .
a marked distinction from the Satin bird’s. The Regent bird frequents our river-scrubs during the winter months,
from the beginning of May to the end o f September, coming from the south, whither he repairs during the summer!
Its food consists of berries, wild fruits, and insects. In confinement it greedily disposes o f house-flies, cockroaches,
and small insects, showing great activity in their capture; but its principal food is the banana, of which it eats
largely. It is very bold and pugnacious, the young males particularly so. In confinement several cases have
occurred of one having killed the other. The young males closely resemble the females in plumage during their first
year; in the second they partially assume the gay plumage o f their sire; and in their third year they put on the
frill livery o f the adult male.’ ”
My friend, M. Jules P. Verreaux, who has had, during his long sojourn in Australia, ample opportunities for
observing this and other species of this family inhabiting that country, sends me the following account of the
Regent b i r d “ The Sericulus melinus resembles in its habits the greater number of the Australian Melephagidte, and
is most often met with on those trees whose flowers contain the greatest amount of sawVinnno matter, attracting
numerous small insects, which it searches for with the utmost care. The tongue, being barbed on each
side near the tip, is introduced into the flower and extracts the greater number of the insects, which are
generally hidden at the bottom of the corolla.. It feeds also upon the seeds of ¿HWn* VmrL 0f trees; I
have always observed it upon the wild figs, of the seeds of which it is very fond. This species also seeks for
insects among the flowers of the Eucalyptus, and also feeds upon the pulpy seeds of the wild vines, and of the
climbing plants which are so numerous in certain parts of 'Australia. I have observed that the brood generally
consists of from four to five young—that these do not leave their parents until the next breeding-season, when
the plumage of the young males commences to change to that o f the adult—and that then they go off in a
different direction, and are seen no more in the same localities chosen by the adults for their nidification. At
this time, frill of passion and vivacity, they are often seen assembling together to construct their bowers. This
species, like the Ptilonorhynchus violaceus and P. crassirostris, also the two species of ChJamydodera, nuchalis and
maculata, construct the bowers so well represented by Gould in the ‘ Birds of Australia.’ These are frequented,
generally every day, by these different species of birds, which not only perform there a thousand evolutions, but
bring from considerable distances little stones, bones, shells, twigs, and a ll, kinds o f feathers to decorate it. At
this time also the plaintive cry of pihau-pihau, which they usually utter, appears changed for the notes prit-prit,
prioprio, which are softer, and only made by the male, the female having a guttural note difficult to be heard.
The Sericulus, like the other birds with which I associate it, generally forms its nest in the fork of a branch at a
height of seven or eight fe et; this it composes chiefly of the fibres of climbing plants, of mosses and lichen.«^ mingling
with them at the same time a quantity o f leaves and feathers. The nest is firm and cup-shaped, the interior linnd with
very delicate fibres, and contains generally five eggs, of a clear reddish tint, and spotted with brick-red spots; near
the larger end these spots are so arranged as to make a considerable circle. In their first plumage the coloration
of both sexes resembles that o f the female; and it is not until the second year that the males assume their beautiful
dress, but only obtain the rich orange tint on the head in their third year.”
Male.—Upper part of head, neck, hack, and secondaries golden yellow; forehead tinged with deep orange; apical
portion of secondaries black, as are also the edges of the inner webs of' the three uppermost ones. First and
second primaries black, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth black on their outer webs and tips, the black extending
downwards on the inner side of the inner web for half the length o f the feather; rest o f inner web golden yellow,
extending along the shaft to within a short distance of the tip. Rest of plumage and tail deep velvety black.
Bill horn-colour, brownish towards the tip of lower mandible. Feet and tarsi black.
Female.—Forehead light brown, finely spotted with dark brown; back of head black. Cheeks and lower part
of neck light brown, spotted with dark brown like the forehead. A broad bar o f black divides this from the
back, which has the feathers white in the centres, with black edges. Rest of upper parts dark brown, a white
spot near the tips of the feathers, broader and more conspicuous on those near the flanks. Wings olive-brown,
dark brown on the inner webs. Chin and upper part o f the throat white; central portion of lower part black.
Upper part o f breast, flanks, and lower parts dull white, with the edges of the feathers dark brown, palest on the
central part of the abdomen. Tail light brown. Bill, feet, and tarsi black.