Bowerbirds are unique. The male Bowerbird builds a structure on the ground called a bower. A lot of work goes into creating these structures, as you can see in the photos. Colourful objects decorate the bower after completion. These could be shells or plants or even discarded human things such as bottle caps or bits of plastic or glass. Different Bowerbirds prefer different colours. Building a bower is fundamental to the courtship of Bowerbirds.
When a female comes near his bower, the male will dance. He must be a good builder, decorator and dancer to attract a female. Female bowerbirds will shop around to find a male with the best bower and dancing skills and the layout of the objects that she likes. Some females prefer to see the objects arranged in order, from smallest to largest. Female Bowerbirds are very fussy.
The bower is not a nest. They serve no purpose other than to attract a mate. Female bowerbirds are attracted to the male that builds the best bower with colours and designs that she likes. The female builds the nest. The male spends most of his time maintaining and defending his bower.
Bowerbirds eat mostly fruit but also insects and sometimes nectar and plants. Some are considered pests because they eat fruit and vegetable crops. They live only in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Bowerbirds have the longest life expectancy of passerines (small perching birds), with most living about ten years or more. Like a parrot, they can also mimic the sounds of other birds and even mammals.
Bowerbird Species
There are 20 different species of bowerbirds in the family Ptilonorhynchidae. Here are the ones that I have seen.
Great Bowerbird
The Great Bowerbird is the largest in the family, with a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) and 230 grams (8.1 oz) in weight. They live all across the north of tropical Australia. They are not colourful birds, being all brown, but colour is added to their bower. The photo at the top is the bower of the Great Bowerbird. This particular bird prefers white and green objects.
Satin Bowerbird
The Satin Bowerbird is a very pretty bird. They are dimorphic. Females are mostly green with some brown and strikingly deep blue eyes. The male is a blue-black colour. The green females are well camouflaged and are challenging to find in the jungle. However, immature males look like females and are often mistaken for them. They live along the east coast of Australia.
Western Bowerbird
The Western Bowerbird is easily identified by the pink patch on the back of its neck. They live in the centre and centre-west of Australia. The spotted Bowerbird is similar but lives only in the eastern half of Australia.
This bird decorated one entrance to his bower with bright yellow fruit and trimmed the other side with white shells.
While most bowers curve outwards and then back inwards at the top to form an enclosed structure, the bower of the Western Bowerbird is built in two distinct halves and is open at the top.
Summary
If you are travelling in Australia, keep an eye out for one of these bowers. They are usually under the shade of a tree or bush. If you find a bower, the male Bowerbird will not be very far away. Please don’t disturb the bower. The male Bowerbirds spend countless hours building and decorating it.