Great Bowerbird

The Great Bowerbird is the largest member of the bowerbird family, with plain, well-camouflaged grey-brown plumage over most of the body, finely mottled on the back and wings. Both sexes carry a patch of lilac-pink feathers on the nape, though this crest is usually kept concealed and is only flashed briefly during courtship or aggressive displays, making the bird look deceptively plain most of the time.

Despite its subdued plumage, the male compensates with an extraordinary avenue-shaped bower, the largest built by any bowerbird species, which he decorates with carefully sorted piles of pale grey, white, and green objects such as bones, shells, stones, and glass, arranged with a keen eye for color grouping and even basic perspective tricks to appear more impressive to visiting females.

Key field marks

• Large size, the biggest bowerbird species
• Plain grey-brown, finely mottled plumage over most of the body
• Concealed lilac-pink crest on the nape, flashed only during display
• Builds an especially large stick avenue bower decorated with pale-colored objects

Similar species

• Spotted Bowerbird (drier inland regions) is smaller and more heavily spotted, with a less extensive range overlap.
• No other large bird in its northern Australian range shares the combination of plain grey-brown plumage with a hidden pink nape crest.

Habitat

Inhabits open woodland, monsoon forest, vine thickets, and gardens, often near water.

Range

Widespread across northern Australia, from the Kimberley region of Western Australia across the Top End of the Northern Territory to Cape York and coastal Queensland.

Migration

Sedentary, remaining within an established home range year-round.

Behavior

Males spend extensive time building, maintaining, and meticulously arranging objects at their bower, often sorting decorations by color and size; the bower is used purely for courtship display, not as a nest.

Voice

A harsh, rasping, mechanical-sounding call and various chattering and hissing notes, especially around the bower.

Feeding

Feeds on fruit, insects, and seeds, foraging both in trees and on the ground.

Nesting

The female builds a simple, shallow cup nest of twigs in a tree or shrub, entirely separate from the male's display bower; lays 1-3 cream to pale brown eggs with darker markings.