This impressive Bower was built by a male Satin Bowerbird that frequents a friends property on the Darling Downs, South-East Queensland, Australia. Male Satin Bowerbirds build these specialised stick structures that are then decorated with blue items to impress the female. The owner of the property said that there were numerous bowers on the property and that often the male would use the same bower each year and other times build another one. She said that the male bowerbird uses the purple/blue berries from the native dianella plant to also decorate the bower, along with straws, bottle tops and blue pegs and anything else it can find. The use of the bower is really to impress it's mate and is part of the courtship process that will hopefully impress the female enough that she is convinced that it is the best bird to mate with. The satin bowerbirds do not lay their eggs in these bowers but in a traditional nest in a close by tree.
The craftmanship of these satin bowerbirds is magnificent and I was thrilled to come across this one, as I had never seen one before and very grateful for my friend for letting me photograph it.
Judi Gray
UPDATE:
The craftmanship of these satin bowerbirds is magnificent and I was thrilled to come across this one, as I had never seen one before and very grateful for my friend for letting me photograph it.
Judi Gray
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| Bower of the Male Satin Bowerbird |
UPDATE:
- Judi's photo of a Satin Bowerbird Bower featured in an exhibit for school children on "Animal Architecture" in Science World in Canada in 2014.
that is an impressive bower; great photo opportunity
ReplyDeleteThanks Carole, it would have been even better to get a photo of the bowerbird in the bower! maybe next time!
DeleteA very cool sight to see! Great shots! Have a happy day and thanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. Glad you liked the pictures... something different for wild bird wednesday.
DeleteThats just amazing, where on earth dose it manage to find so many differen articles the same colour?.
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking in on my blog.
All the best Gordon.
Thanks Gordon, yes that was my thought too, the pegs have clearly come from the clothesline on the property but the rest of the blue items it must have sourced from some distance away! Thanks for the comment.
DeleteBowerbirds are fascinating, I know them only from TV, great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christian, yes they are lovely aren't they, this only the second one I have ever seen in person. Amazing workmanship from the these birds!
DeleteWhat a nice bower that is too. I remember coming across them on picnics in the Bunya Mountains and here they have a pair of bower birds in the Wildlife Dome, bower and all. They are such pretty birds.
ReplyDeleteYes they are common in the Bunya Mountains, I have seen the satin bowerbirds there, but never the bower! They are lovely. Amazing to hear they do well in the Wildlife Dome.
DeleteWow! What a lot of blue belongings. He must have worked hard finding all those things. How lucky to have something like that on a property. Great pictures too. I have also only seen such a thing at the Bunya Mountains.
ReplyDeleteHi Russell, yes he has worked super hard hasn't he! This is the first satin bower I have ever seen, however good friends of ours who live in town in East Toowoomba in a leafy area, also have the bowerbirds come and build bower birds in their yard every year!
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