Interior of Queensland south of 20° southern (except extreme western and south-west) and interior of western and central New South Wales (except extreme western border country) south to extreme north-western Victoria, in eastern Australia.
Interior Queensland through inland New South Wales to north-western Victoria and the upper Murray River in South Australia.
Habits
Solitary during display and during the breeding season. When not attending bower or nest can form flocks of 10 - 30, and occasionally up to 50 or more.
Food
Insects, seeds, fruits and berries.
Voice
Loud churring grating, hissing. Throat-clearing type sounds and mimicry.
Nest
Saucer-shaped, shallow, composed of thin dead twigs, lined with finer twigs and sometimes dry grass, in a leafy tree, up to 10 meters above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; pale buff-grey with dusky zigzag lines; oval; about 38 x 27 mm. Incubation: by female.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 20 days.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Probably forms a superspecies with Western Bowerbird (Chlamydera guttata), and in the past considered conspecific. Hybridization with Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) recorded south-east of Charters Towers (eastern Queensland).
Similar Species
Western Bowerbird (Chlamydera guttata) which has a more western range and Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) which is larger, has greyish upper parts and pale tawny underparts.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
(33Kb) © ? (
BirdLife International Species Factsheet