Decorates its bower with bones, shells, and green vegetation, and paints the walls with chewed plant matter.
WA: Endangered; NT: Extinct
Endemic to Australia
At a glance
FamilyBowerbirds
SizeMedium
RarityCommon
HabitatOccurs in open woodlands, as well as in gardens and town parks within its range.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from May to September.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Zebedee Muller
Range map
Range map
1960visible hotspots
20596visible records
2states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Occurs in open woodlands, as well as in gardens and town parks within its range. Males decorate their avenue bowers with pale objects such as small bones and shells. Western Bowerbird is paler, and its range is further west. Spotted Bowerbird lives in inland portions of Queensland and New South Wales.
Behavior
Loud rasping calls include hisses and squawks.
Gallery
Regional timing
New South Wales
Queensland
South Australia
Commonly confused with
Spotted CatbirdAiluroedus maculosusInhabits the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland (Cairns region), thus does not overlap with similar Green Catbird. Compare female and juvenile Satin Bowerbird (with blue eye, darker bill).→Great BowerbirdChlamydera nuchalisLarge and noisy bowerbird. Bright pink crest can be raised and lowered. Females are smaller and may lack the pink crest. Found in northern Australia, usually in dry woodlands.→