A place where I'll rant and rave or humor and enlighten the people around me. (Well Hopefully)

Published on April 19, 2008 By Zoologist03 In Wildlife

Well, well, well I see you're reading again.   Good for you, my adoring fanbase for you shan't be disappointed.  I bring you another fantastic animal suggested by Maso; the lovely and very interesting....

 

 

 

 

 

Satin Bowerbird (AKA  Satin Grackle, Purple Satin)   Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

 

Coming to you from the family Ptilonorhynchidae, which includes bowerbirds and catbirds.  Also, I'm not exactly sure how to pronounce it.

 

This article won't be very long.  The main interest(and majority of available information) in these birds is their behavior.  You'll see.

 

He's a beauty, don't you agree? (The eyes alone are awesome)

 

Physical Characteristics:

Like a lot of birds, they are sexually dimorphic. 

These birds are about 13in(~33 cm) tall with females tending to be smaller. Males weigh around 0.38–0.64 lb(~173–290 g). Females weigh in at about 0.38–0.57 lb (170–258 g).

The adult male, which you see in the first picture in this article, has  iridescent blue-black plumage, a pale bluish white bill and a violet-blue iris.  Younger males and females are similar in color to each other.  They have olive-green backs, are off-white with dark scalloping below and have brown wings and tail. The bill is darker brown in color.  They are collectively referred to as 'green' birds. 

Now there's a pretty Sheila, eh?  (I'm using Aussie slang. )

 

Immature males may start acquiring the adult plumage at around 5 years of age, but it won't be complete until they are in their 7th year.

 

Oh, and that beak becomes a very useful appendage aside from eating as you'll see.

 

Habitat:

Satin bowerbirds inhabit most of the eastern and south-eastern coast of Australia. 

It lives in rainforests, with a strong preference for their edges, and adjacent woodlands with dense sapling understory.  It uses clearings for its courtship and mating purposes, which are covered in behavior.

 

Diet:

Omnivorous but primarily frugivorous. Also eats flowers, leaves, nectar, seeds, and insects(especially in summer). Forages mostly in the canopy but winter flocks forage on the ground for pasture leaves and herbs. 

 

Behavior:

The other sections are short, but the real good stuff is in this one.  These guys are awesome.  

Diurnal.

What bowerbirds are most known for is their courtship display.  The male goes through quite a lot of work trying to lure a lady into his fancy bachelor pad.

The male will build and decorate a small hut-like structure called a 'bower' and then proceed to decorate it.  The bower consists of two parallel walls of sticks built on the ground, and it is used as a courtship arena during the breeding season.  He will then run around trying to find things with which to decorate his bower with.  The preferred objects are blue, yellow, or shiny things (blue seems to be the favorite, especially as the birds mature).  These decorations can include flowers, fruits, parrot feathers, snake skin, snail shells, and numerous human-made objects such as ballpoint pens, drinking straws, and bottle tops.  A mixture of chewed vegetable matter and saliva is used to paint the walls of the bower.  With all of his treasures he carefully and meticulously makes sure everything is perfect for the female.  Keep in mind he builds, collects, and decorates all using his beak- that's got to be hard work.

When a female arrives to admire the male's handiwork he puts on a fabulous little display.  As the female sits inside the bower,  the male will perform ritualized, exaggerated movements, such as strutting and bowing, with wings outstretched and quivering, and accompanied by a variety of mechanical-sounding calls, such as buzzing and rattling interspersed with mimicry. One of the bower decorations is usually carried in the male's bill.  He works hard.   If the female is sufficiently impressed, she lets the male mate with her and then leaves to perform the nesting duties on her own, while the male readies himself for courting more prospective females.

Bowerbird love shack.

 

The breeding season starts in late August/September and peaks during October through December.  The female typically builds an open cup nest in trees or bushes, but also in vine tangles and mistletoe, at 6.6–131 ft (2–40 m) above ground. Nests are composed of a shallow saucer of sticks and twigs and an egg-cup lining of green and dry leaves.  One to three colored and blotched eggs are laid. Incubation is 21–22 days and nestling period is 17–21 days.  These birds are pretty long lived, a 15-22 year lifespan.

Bowerbird chick- not a delicious nugget option.

 

Interesting Facts:

Ornithological and popular literature contains numerous stories of males removing jewelry, keys, and other items from homes, vehicles, camps, etc. to decorate bowers.

Apparently some person has created a robotic female bowerbird to study courtship displays.  Yes, the males have tried to screw it.

Depending on the species, bowers may consist of parallel hedges of twigs and grass or be made of twigs leaned up against a sapling, like a thatched hut. These can be nine feet high.

Each species of bowerbird has its own color preference for objects and the dullest-colored bowerbirds construct the fanciest bowers.

 

 

Well, not much else to say.  Most of my sources spend a lot of time on the courtship...which makes sense.  They're just regular birds with an awesome courtship display.  Oh, and those amazing eyes.

Hope you had fun.

 

I'll leave you with this:

~Zoo


Comments
on Apr 19, 2008
Here's a little mating display. It's not great, but it's all I could find.




And here's how the male builds his bower: WWW Link


~Zoo
on Apr 19, 2008
Cool. I didn't think I had heard of these birds, but I think I have.

I also had to look up the definition of dimorphic, but the definition didn't help me any. Haha.

Really informative, interesting, and educational post. I enjoyed it.
on Apr 19, 2008
I also had to look up the definition of dimorphic, but the definition didn't help me any. Haha.


Heh, it means that there are two distinct forms. In the case of sexual dimorphism, the male and female are easily distinguished just by looking at them.

Really informative, interesting, and educational post. I enjoyed it.


Thanks, Tex. I kinda wish I had more stuff to go on...but sometimes things can be said in a few words. I don't think I missed anything major...so, I'll live with it.

~Zoo
on Apr 19, 2008
sexually dimorphic


Learn a word (or term) a day! Had to look that one up. Very much like Humans. The females are va-va-voom! The males - eh?
on Apr 19, 2008

Learn a word (or term) a day! Had to look that one up. Very much like Humans.

Yep.   Except the males are more commonly the most interesting to look at in the bird world.  The birds of paradise, for instance...completely awesome.

~Zoo

on Apr 19, 2008
The birds of paradise, for instance...completely awesome.


That's why I dont want to be a bird.
on Apr 19, 2008

That's why I dont want to be a bird.

  Indeed.

~Zoo

on Apr 21, 2008

Hey Zoo, sorry I missed this one, mate.  Aren't these birds absolutely fantastic?  They're so cool and incredibly good mimics too.  I remember hearing about people keeping the males as pets and hearing stories of family members being confused by the bird calling out their names etc.  But really, they're best in the wild, where they can do their thing.

Some of the non-Australian bower birds build elaborate structures too, but I really like the Satin Bower.  He is such a beautiful bird.

Thanks again for these articles, mate.  I really look forward to them.

on Apr 21, 2008

 

Some of the non-Australian bower birds build elaborate structures too, but I really like the Satin Bower. He is such a beautiful bird.

Yeah, there's one in New Guinea that builds a freakin' hut...and has piles of of stuff: acorns, beetle wings, flowers...lots of things.

He is such a beautiful bird.

Indeed he is.

Thanks again for these articles, mate. I really look forward to them.

My pleasure.  Though I've got exams this week...so they may be a tad scarce.

~Zoo