> From: Andrew Taylor <>
> Organization: Computer Science & Engineering, University of New South Wales
> Reply-To:
> Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 19:06:38 +1000
> To:
> Subject: Re: [BIRDING-AUS] Bowerbirds- bower perpectives
>
> Solar inclination is different in tropical Atherton to the Blue Mountains,
> of course.
Thanks Andrew. If instead of "facing north" we substitute "facing the
noon-day sun", things start to fall into place.
South of the tropic of Capricorn, the sun at midday is always north. At the
equator it will be north in June/July and south in Dec./January, gradually
changing back and forth between the two as the year progresses.
If the bowerbirds are seeking best lighting, then the further south from the
Tropic (approx. Rockhampton) they are, the greater the chances that facing
north will be the answer. (I can imagine that for a bower on terrain with a
very strong southerly aspect, facing north might not be the best.)
Without knowing the precise situation, my guess is that at the latitude of
Atherton, for much of summer the sun will be close enough to directly
overhead at noon that there would be no significant difference which-ever
way the bower was oriented.
Cheers
Syd
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