[Birding-Aus] Satin Bowerbird questions: Yellow petals and advertisement calls

[David Adams]

There's an adult male Satin Bowerbird in my neighborhood that passes
through my property on its way to and from where I presume its bower
is. (I haven't crashed into the underbrush to confirm this as I don't
want to disturb the bird at the bower.) Today, I saw the male land in
the yard and actively collect yellow Dahlia flower petals. Do they
normally collect yellow items? Every bower that I've ever seen for
this species has been full of predominantly blue items and I can't
remember anything bright yellow.

Second question: Our back yard has a tall gum where the male Satin
stops and pauses in the canopy. From this position, I can't ever
remember him making a call. On the opposite side of the street, I
regularly observer the same individual in a different tree at a
similar height. In both cases, he's in the canopy and pretty well
obscured from above - but in the second tree he makes a call that I
only hear in this context. It doesn't sound like any of the usual
growling/chortling/scratching/modem noises that I hear from other
Satin Bowerbirds. Instead, it's a simpler call - a rising and then
long falling note. (It seems pretty hopeless trying to describe calls
in general, and I'm not particularly good at it on a good day.) In any
case, the call is distinctive enough for me to recognize it, even at a
distance. I've only ever heard it come from an adult male Satin
Bowerbird - never from any other Bowerbird in the area. I've been
guessing for some time that this call is an advertisement for a bower.
The tree he uses for this call has changed between years - he used to
make this call about 50 meters away. In any case, I figure that if
this a bower advertisement behavior, that it's probably pretty well
known and widely observed. Does it sound like I'm on the right track
here?

Thanks for any comments,

David Adams
Near Bermagui, NSW
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[Allan Richardson]

Hi Dave,

Satin Bowerbirds regularly use yellow. I've seen them with Hibbertia scandens flowers, as well as other lemon or yellow blossoms and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo crest feathers as well. The bird who has taken up residence in our backyard includes pine tree sprigs that are a combination of yellow and green and recently has taken to adding yellow leaves from one of the neighbouring gardens. Of course he still has many blue items, but also chooses purple, the old egg cases of praying mantis (look like little yellow-brown styrene eggs), he's used a possum skull in the past, and snake skins are a regular for birds in a more natural setting.

The usual advertisement call of active males is a slightly descending grating call, almost a little reminiscent of a riflebird's hiss. Our bird and a number I have noted over the years usually advertise in the top of a tree above the bower. It may be possible that you have competing males if a bird is advertising some distance from where you're sure a bower is located?

Our bird has changed the location of his bower on a number of occasions, although it is impossible to know how many times the territory has changed hands, since the neighbours clear glass pool fence accounted for one male and my daughter found another adult male dead near the bower. The birds have used four different locations, but they usually favour only two, seeming to swap between them at least once a year in the past. However, the current bird has favoured the one he's using now for some time. When he changes bower location he also changes advertising location, so this may be another reason you are noticing a change in advertisement tree.

The rising and falling note that you describe sounds like the call I often hear as birds warm up their calling repertoire. The bower we have is attended by a mature and an immature male that the adult bird tolerates at the bower. A number of immature birds visit and these two chase them away, so the young males will go through display practice sessions from the canopy of surrounding trees.

If you are patient and quiet Bowerbirds will often tolerate observation from a distance even when displaying, and it may help you unravel your local mysteries.

I hope these observations are of some help.

Allan Richardson
Morisset NSW

[Jill Dark]

Satin Bowerbirds collect quite a variety of yellow items, or, at least they
do in the Blue Mountains. I have seen everlasting daisies, onion skins,
variegated foliage from conifers, yellow crest feathers from Sulphur-crested
Cockatoos , other yellow leaves and flowers, etc.

Jill Dark

[David Adams]

Thanks for all of the great answers! Perhaps I will creep around a bit
and have a look for the bower.

Regarding this from Allan Richardson:

> The usual advertisement call of active males is a slightly descending grating call,
> almost a little reminiscent of a riflebird's hiss

Yes, I almost compared it (vaguely) to a Reiflebird's hiss in my original post.