Regent Bowerbird

1. Male: jet-black body with brilliant golden-yellow head, nape, and wing patches

2. Female: brown plumage with blackish scalloping and a dark crown patch

3. Extreme sexual dimorphism, with males and females appearing very different

These birds are primarily frugivorous, feeding on native and introduced fruits, berries, and occasionally insects and flowers. Males build avenue-type bowers on the forest floor, using sticks and decorating them with shells, seeds, leaves, and berries, often painting the bower with a mixture of saliva and crushed leaves. Breeding occurs from September to February. The female builds a saucer-shaped nest of twigs high in a tree and lays 2-3 eggs, which she incubates and raises without help from the male. Young males take up to seven years to develop full adult plumage.

Regent Bowerbirds inhabit subtropical rainforests and dense gullies, as well as adjacent sclerophyll woodlands, from the Eungella Range in central Queensland to the Illawarra escarpment near Wollongong, NSW. They spend most of their time in the upper canopy, foraging for fruit, but males can be found on the ground during the breeding season at their bowers. Early morning is the best time to spot them, especially when males’ golden plumage catches the sunlight.