Satin Bower Bird bower in Torrens

[Stephen Brand <>]

Our neighbour has been watching the development of a Satin Bower Bird in their garden for about three years. They have a native garden with lots of low growth as well as a few large eucalypes and medium height scrubs. I hear it call in the mornings and occasionally see it in our garden. They say they have seen it develop from juvenile plumage to that superb mature colour. There has been a bower for three years and they assumed that because it was not a mature bird in the first few year, it was a practice bower.  From time to time females come arround.  Today I visited (to talk about replacing a fence) and watched what must have been courting behaviour.  The male was making a different guteral croak and was displaying blue objects in its beak and "bowing" to the female which was moving up and down the bower and then hopping into low shrubs and then coming back to the bower to hop through again.  I could have watched for ages but had to go to work. The sad part is that our neighbours are elderly and selling up. Who knows what will happen next. Anyone interested in a lovely large house with a geat native garden in Torrens.
Have people found bower bird nests in suburban Canberra?  Is this observation likely to produce mating and nesting?  Have others witnessed this degree of courting behaviour in their back yard?
Stephen Brand

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