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Spotted BowerbirdAlternate name(s): "Mimicbird", "Cabbage-bird"  Aboriginal name(s): "wiidhaa" [gamilaraay, yuwaalaraay]Size: 25-31 cm Weight: 120-165 g |
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Similar |
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Description
Classification
Distribution
Sightings
Photos
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
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 Click here for a physical description
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
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Click here for sighting information
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Photos |
Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a
look here 
.
Southern parts of range
Note how the birds shown here are paler overall than those displayed below, from the northern parts of their range.
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ADULT |
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MALE |
Lateral view of a male Spotted Bowerbird preening and in the
process displaying prominently its pink nuchal crest
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, 2006]
Lateral view of a male Spotted Bowerbird at a local bird bath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2023]
Near-dorsal view of a male Spotted Bowerbird displaying
its pink nuchal crest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2016]
Close-up dorsal view of a male Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2023]
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FEMALE |
Birds shown below were sexed by the small size, or lack of, a pink nuchal crest, or by the presence of the resident male nearby (with his larger pink spot). At the angles shown (e.g., frontal,) sexing those birds by morphology is not possible.
Frontal portrait of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2022]
Close-up frontal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up frontal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up near-frontal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Near-lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird; while the
accompanying male bird made its usual racket this one followed
silently
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2007]
Lateral portrait of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2022]
Close-up lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2007]
Near-dorsal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of A. Allnutt)
[Lake Cargelligo, NSW, January 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2021]
Near-dorsal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird; only a few feathers
of its nuchal crest are pink -the rest is dark-grey
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2007]
Dorsal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird - here one
can see clearly the small pink nuchal crest (a male's would
be wide enough that, when erected, it can be seen from the
front by the sides of the head)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2008]
Dorsal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Near Narrabri, NSW, June 2021]
Sex unknown |
In frontal or near-frontal views we do not know how to distinguish between males and females. In the photos displayed above the sex was determined by other means or from other photos taken at the same time.
Close-up frontal view of a Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
The same Spotted Bowerbird as shown above, slightly different posture
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
Lateral portrait of a Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
Close-up lateral view of a Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of R. Druce)
Lateral/ventral view of a Spotted Bowerbird issuing its hissing
call
(photo courtesy of R. Druce)
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Lateral view of a juvenile(?) Spotted Bowerbird; note the absence of
a pink nuchal crest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2006]
Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Spotted Bowerbird; note the absence of
a pink nuchal crest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bowra Wildlife Sanctuary, near Cunnamulla, QLD, September 2017]
Northern parts of range
Note how the birds shown here are darker overall than those displayed above, from the southern parts of their range.
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Near-frontal view of a Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Near-frontal/ventral view of a Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Spotted Bowerbird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
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Breeding information |
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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.
| Breeding season: Sep - Jan | Eggs: 1 - 2 | Incubation period: 21 - 22 days | Fledging age: ca. 21 days |
Nest construction, incubation and care for the chicks is entirely the task of the female. The male is too busy with his bower and his attempts to attract as many females as possible to assist... Females keep their nests well away (at least 50 m) from bowers.
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
| Type: Basket | Material: Twigs | Height above ground: 2 - 15 m |
Spotted Bowerbird nest with two eggs inside
(photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Near Baradine, NSW, 1980ies]
Nest of a female Spotted Bowerbird in the early stages of construction;
this nest was later abandoned
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2007]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
| Size: 38 x 28 mm | Colour: Creamy, structured with brown streaks all over | Shape: Tapered oval |
Spotted Bowerbird eggs inside the nest
(photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Near Baradine, NSW, 1980ies]
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Behaviour |
| Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Sedentary/roaming | Elementary unit: Solitary |
Male bowerbirds are sedentary, females are roaming.
Male Spotted Bowerbird trying to pry loose an old, bent nail
for use as a trinket for its bower
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2020]
Male Spotted Bowerbird trying to pry loose an old, bent nail
for use as a trinket for its bower
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2020]
Male Spotted Bowerbird trying to impress a female by
presenting a pink oleander flower
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2020]
Male Spotted Bowerbird on its high perch, above the bower;
from this location the bird announces his presence by calling
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2020]
| spotbow_20200211.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact calls (male) | © MD |
While some other birds splash themselves wet when bathing, Spotted Bowerbirds fully immerse themselves in water.
Spotted Bowerbirds know how to turn a bath into a shower;
this male displays its pink nuchal crest in the process
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2016]
We have noticed that, while normally they always skip, male Spotted Bowerbirds - when trying to impress a female and thereby craning their neck while displaying their nuchal crest - can, and do, in fact walk. We have not seen any Spotted Bowerbird walking on alternating feet in any other circumstances yet.
Spotted Bowerbird lifting one of its wings, in a manner observed by us
for various types of doves and
pigeons
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2013]
Bowers
Male Spotted Bowerbirds try to attract as many females to their territory, and thus their bower, as they can. It appears that male Spotted Bowerbirds hone their building skills based on experience (see "additional information" link below).
Bower with trinkets
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
Female Spotted Bowerbird inspecting a trinket near the bower; it is
clear from the precision and repeatability of the arrangements
that the birds have a very accurate sense of symmetry and order
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2007]
Here a male Spotted Bowerbird carrying a new piece of decoration (the
seed of a black pine) to its bower
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
This male Spotted Bowerbird has no pink spot yet and its bower
is very basic and unadorned - probably a young "start-up";
nevertheless, females were observed taking an interest
[Tiger Bay Wetlands, Warren, NSW, December 2016]
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Additional information |
Click here to visit a separate page describing the evolution of a Spotted Bowerbird's bowers over the course of years.
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Food, Diet |
Spotted Bowerbirds around our place have shown a taste for a varied diet - we have seen them stealing our mulberries, taking nectar from bottlebrush flowers, eating seeds of Kurrajong trees and cracking seeds of the White Cedar trees on the neighbouring property. They also like the fruit of the introduced Californian Peppertree.
Female Spotted Bowerbird with a partiality for tossed greens
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Near Narrabri, NSW, June 2021]
Spotted Bowerbird collecting fruits from a native shrub,
Eremophila debilis
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2020]
Spotted Bowerbird collecting fruits from a native shrub,
Eremophila debilis
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2020]
Fruit of a Californian Peppertree; the red ones are ripe - we have
seen Spotted Bowerbirds take these; since they did not appear in
the bower as decoration, the birds will probably have eaten them
Here a Spotted Bowerbird has snapped off part of a mulberry
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
Close-up near-frontal view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Close-up near-lateral view of a female Spotted Bowerbird
eating fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2023]
Another surprise came when we observed two birds "trim" our parsley plant, which finally explained why it seemed to never grow in size... Later, this turned out not to be so surprising (see below).
What have we here, in this boring buffalo grass lawn?
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
Let's give it a try... female Spotted Bowerbird starting to peck at
something on the ground
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
Indeed, fresh clover!
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
This female Spotted Bowerbird is feeding on the flower of a plant
similar to dandelion
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2011]
Spotted Bowerbird taking an interest in
psyllids
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2012]
Female Spotted Bowerbird feeding on nectar
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, 2006]
Spotted Bowerbird struggling with the stringy fruit of an introduced
palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2023]
Spotted Bowerbird with the fruit of an introduced palm tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2023]
With the head turned, one can see that this is a male Spotted Bowerbird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2023]
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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.
While Spotted Bowerbirds are very good at mimicking a variety of other bird calls or sounds (such as e.g. mobile phone ring tones, mewing cats, etc.), they excel at mimicking raptor calls. Raptor call renditions can be good enough to mislead experts.
| spotbow_20161116.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Contact call (arrival) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20200211.m4a | (NW NSW) | Contact calls (male) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20170907.m4a | (NW NSW) | Antics at bower (male) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20170907_2.m4a | (NW NSW) | Antics at bower (male) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20140108.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Antics at bower (male) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20220525.m4a | (NW NSW) | Male approaching bird bath | © MD | |
| spotbow_20210312.m4a | (NW NSW) | Male showing female food source | © MD | |
| spotbow_20220923.mp3 | (NW NSW) |
Warning calls (human near bower) |
© MD | |
| spotbow_20230803.mp3 | (NW NSW) |
Warning calls (human near bower) |
© MD | |
| spotbow_20191230.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (Wedge-tailed Eagle) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20200224.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (Wedge-tailed Eagle) + departure | © MD | |
| spotbow_20180217.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (Gr.-cr. Babbler, Austr. Raven); contact call | © MD | |
| spotbow_20180613.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (Pied Butcherbird) + contact calls | © MD | |
| spotbow_20210712.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (White-winged Chough) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20191021.m4a | (NW NSW) | Mimicry (fox) | © MD | |
| spotbow_20150120.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Investigating recorder | © MD |
We have also recorded the wing beat of a Spotted Bowerbird.
| spotbow_20141017_3.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Departure | © MD |
More Spotted Bowerbird sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.