Masked bowerbird
| Masked bowerbird | |
|---|---|
| Males displaying to a female masked bowerbird, Sericulus aureus, illustrated by John Gould (1804–1881) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Ptilonorhynchidae |
| Genus: | Sericulus |
| Species: | S. aureus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sericulus aureus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The masked bowerbird (Sericulus aureus) is endemic to rainforests of New Guinea. It is one of the most brilliantly coloured bowerbirds. The male is a medium-sized bird, up to 25cm long, with flame orange and golden yellow plumage, elongated neck plumes and yellow-tipped black tail. It builds an "avenue-type" bower with two side walls of sticks. The female is an olive brown bird with yellow or golden below.