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23

Golden Bowerbird

(Amblyornis newtonianus)
Alternate name(s): "Newton's Bowerbird", "Golden Gardener"
Size: 23-25 cm
Weight: 60-90 g
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Golden Bowerbird at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Golden Bowerbird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Frontal view of a male Golden Bowerbird (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, December 2014]

Near-frontal view of a male Golden Bowerbird (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Mount Hypipamee NP, near Malanda, QLD, September 2019]

Near-frontal view of a male Golden Bowerbird; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 10 December 2018
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Golden Bowerbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Possum Valley, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, December 2020]

Lateral view of a male Golden Bowerbird at its bower (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a male Golden Bowerbird issuing its call (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a male Golden Bowerbird looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Possum Valley, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, December 2020]

Dorsal view of a male Golden Bowerbird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, December 2018]

Dorsal view of a male Golden Bowerbird on the perch in its bower (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Dorsal view of a preening male Golden Bowerbird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, December 2018]

Breeding information

Twitcher's tip

A bower is NOT a nest - it is a male bird's courting alley. Nests, built by female birds, are in fact kept well away from bowers.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial Mobility: Sedentary/roaming Elementary unit: Solitary

Male birds are sedentary, females are roaming.

Frontal view of a male Golden Bowerbird on the perch in its bower (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Golden Bowerbird's bower (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Mount Hypipamee NP, near Malanda, QLD, September 2019]

Telescopic view of a Golden Bowerbird's bower; the cinnamon-coloured stick at the base (partly obscured by a foreground leaf) is the perch (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, November 2018]

Male Golden Bowerbird adding lichen to its bower (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Mount Lewis NP, near Burtons Ridge, QLD, December 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

goldbow_bh_20181210.m4a (Far N QLD) Contact calls (male) © BH
goldbow_me_20230816_3.mp3 (Far N QLD) Various (male) © ME
goldbow_me_20230816.mp3 (Far N QLD) Various (male) © ME
goldbow_me_20230816_2.mp3 (Far N QLD) ? (male) © ME

More Golden Bowerbird sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.