Regent Bowerbird

An Australian endemic, the regent bowerbird is distributed to rainforests and margins of eastern Australia, from central Queensland to New South Wales. A rare natural intergeneric hybrid between the regent bowerbird and the satin bowerbird is known as Rawnsley's bowerbird.

All male bowerbirds build bowers, which can be simple ground clearings or elaborate structures, to attract female mates. Regent bowerbirds in particular are known to mix a muddy greyish blue or pea green "saliva paint" in their mouths which they use to decorate their bowers. The male builds an avenue-type bower consisting of two walls of sticks, decorated with shells, seeds, leaves and berries. Regents will sometimes use wads of greenish leaves as "paintbrushes" to help spread the substance, representing one of the few known instances of tools used by birds. The female builds a saucer-shaped nest made of twigs measuring 30 cm high and 15–20 cm wide often away from the bower.