A Great Bowerbird

Click the thumbnail for photo gallery

During one of my walks along the shoreline boardwalk at Airlie Beach, a woman showed me the bower of a Great Bowerbird, in the mangroves below the walkway. We found the bird perched in a nearby tree. He came to his bower while we were watching and re-positioned a few of the decorations. Our bird guide says that each species of bowerbird is known for the color and type of objects it uses to decorate its bower. The Great Bowerbird collects green and white glass for the front lawn of the bower, and white objects, mostly plastic drink tops, which look like flower petals for the corridor of the bower. The bower itself is made up of long, thin twigs, placed vertically on either side of a central corridor, and elegantly bending inwards to form the roof of the corridor. I hope he attracts a mate soon, since his bower is located below the high spring tide line.