bowerbirds
Structure-building courting birds
Bowerbirds are medium-sized birds native to Australia and New Guinea, famous for the elaborate structures males build to attract mates.
These bowers—arched tunnels or platforms of twigs—are decorated with colorful objects: flowers, shells, berries, even bottle caps and plastic items.
The male's architectural and decorating skill, not his plumage, wins females.
The bowerbird had arranged blue objects in a neat pile at the bower's entrance.
Presentation for viewing
- decorationObject adding visual appeal
- ornamentThing that beautifies
- attractionPull toward something
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
dancing · performance · spectacle · showmanship · seduction · coloration · mimicry · elaborateness
Southern Hemisphere continent-country
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
- eucalyptusAromatic Australian timber tree
- tropicalOf hot, humid regions
- montaneOf cooler elevated zones
understory · endemic · Australasia · Queensland · Papua · woodland
Of or concerning birds
- passerinePerching bird order member
- dimorphismTwo distinct forms
- plumageBird's complete feather coat
- iridescentShowing shifting spectral colors
polygyny · vocalization · mimicry · foraging · insectivorous · intelligence · cognition · evolution
Broad urban roadway
- platformRaised flat structure
- twigSlender woody shoot
- stickThin piece of wood
- weavingInterlacing strands into fabric
structure · architecture · framework · assembly · design · craftsmanship · complexity · moss
display
Presentation for viewing
- decorationObject adding visual appeal
- ornamentThing that beautifies
- attractionPull toward something
ritual · dancing · performance · spectacle · showmanship · seduction · coloration · mimicry · elaborateness · intricacy
Australia
Southern Hemisphere continent-country
- rainforestWet tropical woodland ecosystem
- eucalyptusAromatic Australian timber tree
- tropicalOf hot, humid regions
montane · understory · endemic · Australasia · Queensland · Papua · woodland
avian
Of or concerning birds
- passerinePerching bird order member
- dimorphismTwo distinct forms
- plumageBird's complete feather coat
iridescent · polygyny · vocalization · mimicry · foraging · insectivorous · intelligence · cognition · evolution · Darwin
avenue
Broad urban roadway
weaving · structure · architecture · framework · assembly · design · craftsmanship · complexity · moss · lichen
satin
Glossy-surfaced woven cloth
- birdsrobin, crow, eagle, owl, duck
- Australian wildlifekangaroo, koala, platypus, echidna, wombat
- mating traitssexual selection, courtship, plumage, antlers, ornamentation
- mimicrychameleon, cuttlefish, stick insect, leaf insect, mockingbird
bowerbirdsbirds-of-paradise
Showy tropical avians
peacocks · lyrebirds · pheasants · frigatebirds · ruffs
bowerbirdsweaverbirds
Birds building woven nests
cuckoos · cowbirds · orioles · cliff swallows