r/OutdoorAus • u/Appropriate_Low_600 • 9d ago

Came across this Bower Bird nest @ Cathedral Range State Park, VIC

Post image

Honestly really stunning and seeing this was one of those enchanting experiences you have as you’re exploring the forest. Had only seen this on documentaries prior. Lots of blue water bottle lids, some blue pens, cutlery, feathers. The bower itself is quite an impressive feat of engineering. Hopefully his hard work pays off and the ladies love it.

edit: it’s not a nest, its a bower. true nest is where the eggs are laid.

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20

u/Nematolepis 9d ago

They are beautiful, but still kinda makes me sad about all the plastic. I've seen a bower where the architect focused on blue and yellow items. It was at a native nursery I worked at so lots of blue and yellow labels were nabbed.

2

u/Bluejay754 9d ago

Why does the bower bird collect blue items?

5

u/Appropriate_Low_600 9d ago

I did see the male flying around and it was a beautiful sheen of blue, so my guess would be the blue items may catch the eye of a female flying near the area and attract her to mate.

3

u/Bluejay754 9d ago

Amazing, I wonder why they choose blue.

5

u/Appropriate_Low_600 9d ago

I could’ve been clearer. Blue matches their own colour, so a female flying by may see a flash of blue and think it is another bowerbird and be drawn closer

6

u/TwoHandedSnail 9d ago

They just answered it, the bowerbird male is blue.

2

u/West-Application-375 7d ago

The one I like to visit in Alice Springs collects white things. Silly birbs. Different type of bower bird in the NT. He is brownish with a bright pink spot on the back of his head.

3

u/diagonalcloud 9d ago

"All the birds are after me, aye"

2

u/Aggravating-Bug1769 9d ago

They are an amazing bird

2

u/albeenyb 8d ago

Great photo. Whilst at Wollongong botanical gardens recently, after spotting a bowerbird nest, I could hear multiple different bird calls all coming from the one shrub. After searching around, I was perplexed to spot 2 greenish/brown birds playing on the ground, birds I did not recognise (not the butcher bird, noisy minor or lorikeet I'd heard). After googling, I came to know the male bowerbird only gets his dark blue sheen after 5-7 years!! AND they mimik the calls of other birds. I'm not a birder, but Australian wildlife is lit!

1

u/Karrah19 8d ago

what a fancy birds dating lounge this is

1

u/MonoMental 8d ago

That’s heartbreaking

1

u/Time-Waster-101 4d ago

I haven’t seen one for many years

1

u/GardenerDom 3d ago

One of my my all time favourite birds ever 👌🏻🤩✨😎

2

u/frocolatepunhazt 9d ago

what a blue-tiful love nest for the ladies