Bowerbird
Bowerbirds are remarkable avian architects and artists, known for their elaborate courtship structures called bowers. Each male bowerbird constructs these unique structures using natural materials such as sticks, grass, and leaves, and decorates them with a variety of objects, including fruits, fungi, and even discarded plastic items. There are 18 species of bowerbirds primarily found in the forests of New Guinea and Australia, ranging from the size of a starling to that of a medium crow. Males typically exhibit vibrant plumage, while females have more subdued colors.
The bower serves not only as a mating site but also as a display of the male's fitness, where he showcases his colorful feathers and performs various courtship behaviors, including dances and vocalizations. Bower construction is a learned skill, and males often improve their building techniques as they age. After mating, females incubate one to three eggs alone, raising the young without assistance from the males. While bowerbirds face habitat threats due to human activities, they are not considered endangered and can have lifespans of 20 to 30 years. Their diverse habitats range from tropical rainforests to dry regions, showcasing their adaptability in various environments.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Bowerbird
Bowerbirds are some of the greatest construction workers and artists among all the birds. The males build a number of different types of bowers, places in which they court and mate with females. They form their bowers from sticks, grass, moss, and leaves and then decorate them with fungi, berries, fruits, berries, and even bits of plastic and tinfoil. Some birds even paint their bowers, using natural pigments and a tool held in their bills.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ptilonorhynchidae
Genus: Catamblyrhynchus
Species: Various (see below)
There are 18 species of bowerbirds. They live throughout the islands of New Guinea and Australia in forests. These birds range in size from that of a starling to a medium-sized crow. Their bodies are 9 to 15 inches (23 to 40 centimeters) long and weigh 2 to 7 1/2 ounces (62 to 215 grams). Males are larger than females in all but one species. Some of the species have camouflaged plumage (feathering) in brown, gray, and green. Males of the other species either have yellow or orange crests on their heads or are bright, shiny iridescent yellow, red, or blue. Iridescent means their colors shine and shift as though they are reflecting light. Females have drab brown, gray, or green plumage with barred markings on their undersides. Bowerbirds are stout, strong-footed, and heavy-billed birds.
Bowerbirds fly freely about their forest habitats, either in the mountains, temperate regions, or in tropical rain forests. Other species inhabit the woodlands and grasslands near rivers. Most species live in wet forests which extend to 13,000 feet (4,000 meters). One species limits itself to rain forests above 2,950 feet (900 meters). Bowerbirds are diverse enough to live also in dry and barren regions. Whether in damp or dry habitats, bowerbirds build cups of twigs, leaves, and soft plant tendrils in tree forks, crevices, and vines. Into these nests females lay their eggs.
Before a female lays her eggs, and even before she mates with the male, a male courts her in an unusual and unique way. He builds a bower, which is the origin of the name bowerbird. In the world of human beings, bowers are places enclosed by boughs (branches) or vines and are nice places to rest in the shade while listening to the birds, talking with someone special, or reading a book while sipping lemonade. The bowerbird's bower, however, is a special place to which he attracts a female in order to mate. Bowers may be simply a "court," a clearing on the forest floor which the male decorates with green leaves. A second type of bower is the "maypole," sticks piled about the base of a sapling's trunk. "Maypole" bowers may reach heights of 6 1/2 feet (two meters). "Mat" bowers are carpets of mosses and ferns. An "avenue" bower has a passageway between two parallel walls of sticks and grass. Other bowers look like small, thatched-roof huts at the bases of saplings or like little caves. Different species build different kinds of bowers. These bowers also intimidate other male birds from entering the territory. Bower-building is a learned skill, one at which younger birds become better as they practice and grow older. Interesting studies have shown that birds with brighter plumage build simpler bowers, while those with the duller plumage construct the more fancy bowers. Some bowers have been used by different birds for more than 50 years.
Once the bower is built, the male often decorates it with fungi (mushrooms), fruits, and berries. He may even add pieces of plastic or tinfoil which people have discarded. Some birds even paint their bowers, holding a natural tool or brush in their bills to apply pigments (paints) found in nature.
Not only does the male attract the female with his fancy bower and its decorations, but he also increases her interest in him by displaying his colorful plumage (feathering). While he shows his colors, he also dances, hops, and flits about, pointing to his bower, just as a real estate agent points out the features of a house to a prospective buyer. The male has many different grating, cackling, and squeaking sounds, as well as cat-like wails which he also uses to court her. The male attracts and mates with as many females as possible and does not form a bond with any of them.
After mating, the female lays one to two eggs and rarely three. The eggs are off-white to tan or have spots and blotches around the larger ends. She incubates the eggs by herself for 19 to 24 days before they hatch. The young then remain in the nest until they fledge, being able to fly, 18 to 21 days after hatching. The male does not stay with the female or help her care for the young. It is not known what predators they face as young or as adult birds. Females are able to mate when they are two years old. Some males wait to mate until they have adult plumage at seven years old. It is not known how many years past this age they live.
Most bowerbirds eat fruit, but their diets also include lizards, other birds' nestling young, insects, and other invertebrates, or animals without skeletons.
Bowerbirds have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years. Though their habitats are threatened by human development, they are not an endangered species.
The 18 species are:
Adelbert bowerbird Sericulus bakeri
Archbold's bowerbird Archboldia papuensis
Fawn-breasted bowerbird Chlamydera cerviniventris
Flamed, or black-faced golden, bowerbird Sericulus aureus
Golden bowerbird Priondura newtoniana
Great gray bowerbird Chlamydera nuchalis
Green catbird Ailuroedus crassirostris
Lauterbach's bowerbird Chlamydera lauterbachi
MacGregor's gardener, or mocha-breasted bowerbird Amblyornis macgregoriae
Regent bowerbird Sericulus chrysocephalus
Satin bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Spotted bowerbird Ailuroedus melanotis, or Chlamydera maculate
Striped, or orange-crested, gardener Amblyornis subalaris
Tooth-billed bowerbird Scenopoeetes dentirostris
Vogelkop gardener Amblyornis inornatus
White-eared catbird Ailuroedus buccoides
Yellow-fronted gardener Amblyornis flavifrons
Bibliography
“Bowerbird.” San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Animals and Plants, animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bowerbird. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
“Bowerbirds.” Bush Heritage Australia, www.bushheritage.org.au/species/bowerbirds. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
“Family Ptilonorhynchidae - Catbirds and Bowerbirds.” Oiseaux Birds, www.oiseaux-birds.com/page-family-ptilonorhynchidae.html. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.