I have a friend in Rivett who has a Satin Bowerbird bower at her neighbour’s home. The neighbour has set up a camera (I have no idea what type of set up), to make a video of the birds and sent it to me 2 days
ago. There are 3 video files, two at 11 minutes each and one 29 seconds. I can send the link to the videos to anyone interested. He has labelled it as nest, which of course it isn’t. Many people make that mistake. So I have clarified that with them. The following
is an edit of what I sent back to him.
The first (short one, shows the bird picking up a blue bottle cap), the 2nd one is of the birds at the bower taken from above and a bit unclear where the bower is, the third is from nearly ground level
and is the most useful, it shows a lot of his movements. I was not aware (or had forgotten) about a crouching behaviour. Most bowers are built under much denser vegetation than this one, so it is a fairly good view of this one. The male shown has started the
process of growing adult plumage, it has some blue feathers in its rump. So I am guessing in the next 12 months there might be a complete transition to become all blue. In the process they become an untidy mix of olive-green and blue. They will start practicing
sexual behaviour a bit before they are mature. So that is what is happening here. Although I think I saw an all blue one there 2 weeks ago. So maybe this bird has taken over a bower built by an adult. I could only guess that. Or he seems fairly adept already.
The female was in the bower for most of the time and appeared patient, sort of interested but not convinced. She waited around mostly watching from inside the bower but also avoided the displaying male when he actually approached her. He did appear to be a
little unsure what to do. At least that is what showed on the video.
Also, for what it is worth, the species is prominent around my home throughout the current winter. Sometimes 5 to 8 can be seen from my home at one time but probably many more in the slightly wider range.
Philip
