Sericulus
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sericulus is a genus of brightly coloured passerine birds belonging to the bowerbird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are found in New Guinea and eastern Australia.
| Sericulus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Regent bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ptilonorhynchidae |
| Genus: | Sericulus Swainson, 1825 |
| Type species | |
| Meliphaga chrysocephalus Lewin, 1808 | |
Birds in this genus build "avenue-type" bowers which consist of two parallel walls made of vertical sticks and pieces of grass.[1]
Taxonomy
The genus Sericulus was introduced in 1825 by the English zoologist William Swainson for the species Meliphaga chrysocephalus, the regent bowerbird, that had been formally described by John Lewin in 1808. Meliphaga chrysocephalus therefore becomes the type species by monotypy.[2][3] The genus name is a diminutive of the Ancient Greek σηρικον/sērikon meaning "silk".[4]
Species
The genus contains four species.[5]
| Image | Name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sericulus aureus | Masked bowerbird | montane Bird's Head and Neck (northwest New Guinea) to east central New Guinea |
_(48842332516).jpg) | Sericulus ardens | Flame bowerbird | south central New Guinea |
| Sericulus bakeri | Fire-maned bowerbird | Adelbert Range (northeast New Guinea) | |
 | Sericulus chrysocephalus | Regent bowerbird | eastern Australia, from central Queensland to New South Wales |
