We have
been fortunate to have a resident male Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus(1) violaceus violaceus), including a
bower, the male’s courtship display arena, continuously in our garden for about
10 years now.
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Mature
male Satin Bowerbird at bower. |
Over the 10
years there have been at least six bowers that we know of, each constructed and
decorated in a separate location with only one bower in the garden at a time.
So it seems only one dominant male at a time is in charge of our garden.
As the
males only reach the fully blue mature stage at age 7 and probably only live on
average to about age 10 or 11 years, we have no doubt had a number of dominant
blue males over the 10 years.
Each bower
is dismantled as the new bower is constructed and the precious blue objects are
moved to the new location.
Male bower
birds are great thieves so the blue objects are continually changing at a bower
as some items are stolen and new ones turn up - some of these stolen and some
newly found. The objects include blue plastics of various origins, however blue
bottle tops and straws are common and Crimson Rosella blue tail feathers are
also common. A few yellow objects are included, often flowers, but sometimes we
have found Sulphur-crested Cockatoo crest feathers at bowers in our garden.
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This is the last bower before the one featured in this post. It has now been
completely removed including blue objects. |
The number
of blue objects at the new bower is less than are seen in the photo above of
the old bower so I am assuming some have been taken/stolen by other males.
The blue
objects match the colour of the mature male’s plumage, though, depending on the
amount and angle of the light, the plumage can vary from blue to black. The
blue objects also match the vivid blue eyes of the females and immature males.
The mature fully blue males have lilac coloured eyes (see photos).
While the
activity at the bower is at a peak during the breeding season the bower is
maintained throughout the year. The bower in this post was moved to this
location over the past couple of weeks and is still being refined with new
sticks added and sticks in place adjusted and painted. Even though it is autumn
and the breeding season is over there is still plenty of display activity at
the bower as the photos in this post show.
I was
surprised to observe an immature male at the bower busily adding and adjusting
sticks and painting the inside of the bower. The immature male also displayed
and danced around the bower with blue objects held in its bill while another
immature male looked on. The mature blue male was not present.
|
Immature male Satin Bowerbird. Note the green throat and breast with fine white
spots and streaks. Also note the dark grey bill is just starting to turn a
light colour at the tip indicating this male is about 3 to 4 years old. |
|
The
immature male spent 15 minutes or so adding and adjusting sticks at the bower. |
|
This
stick looks to be too short and crooked for the bower walls? |
|
The bird
was busy moving in and out of the bower. |
|
A
brief pause from bower work for a scratch. |
|
The
green birds are very attractive. This photo has not been cropped - I was very
close, concealed in a chair hide using only a 300mm focal length lens. |
|
The
immature male took a break from bower work to put on a performance with a piece
of blue plastic. |
|
The
display involves jumps and wing and tail movements while making various calls
and buzzing sounds. Another immature male watched on. |
|
The
under tail feathers are very attractive – I am not sure what purpose such
attractive feathers in this location serve given the females selecting mates
are looking at all blue males? |
|
A
little later the blue plastic was discarded and a dry brown faecal pellet, or
perhaps it is an insect larva case, was taken up and the display continued. |
|
The
display included a variety of moves including hops, side jumps and sudden wing
movements. |
|
The
display continued. |
In an
observation session a couple of hours later when the adult blue male was
present, two immature males were also at the bower. One of the immature males
stood motionless inside the bower, as a female would, while the mature male
commanded the display area and put on a performance with dance, a variety of
calls and blue objects held in its bill.
|
The
magnificent mature blue male arrived at the bower and the immature males
adopted a subservient stance. |
|
Note
the lilac coloured eyes of the mature male, the creamy white bill and bill
feathers. |
|
This
immature male appeared to adopt the role of a female at the bower in the mature
male’s presence? |
|
The
immature male stood in the bower while the mature male moved about the display
arena. |
|
The
mature male appeared larger than the immature males? |
It would
seem that young males practise bower construction at a mature male’s bower and
also learn to display in preparation for the day when they reach maturity and
build their own bower. The mature male in command of the bower, the owner,
seemed to tolerate the presence of the immature males. I suspect this may not
be the case during the breeding season when receptive females are visiting
bowers.
(1) From Fraser and Gray, Australian
Bird Names - A Complete Guide.
Ptilonorhynchus from Greek means
feather-bill.
The Satin Bowerbird and other species of this genus have a small patch of
feathers extending from the forehead down over the root of the bill which gives
the head and bill when viewed from some angles a rather unique shape – see
photos.
Australia
is fortunate to have 8 species of bowerbirds with 5 species in the Ptilonorhynchus genus. This list of
Bowerbird species is copied from the BirdLife Australia working list:
Tooth-billed
Bowerbird
|
Scenopoeetes
dentirostris
|
Golden Bowerbird
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Amblyornis
newtonianus
|
Regent Bowerbird
|
Sericulus
chrysocephalus
|
Satin Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus
violaceus
|
Wet Tropics Satin Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus minor
|
Southern Satin Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus violaceus violaceus
|
Spotted Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus
maculatus
|
Western Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus
guttatus
|
North-west Cape Western Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus guttatus carteri
|
Inland Western Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus guttatus guttata
|
Great Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus
nuchalis
|
Western Great Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis nuchalis
|
Eastern Great Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis orientalis
|
Fawn-breasted
Bowerbird
|
Ptilonorhynchus cerviniventris
|
A post
featuring the Western Bowerbird can be found here:
For more information about Satin Bowerbirds the
following sites are well worth a look: