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 LC    Great Bowerbird* Id (Atlas): 683
    Chlamydera nuchalis Endemic

Description (10)
Image of Great Bowerbird
 

Other Scientific Names
Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis [Christidis and Boles (2008)]

Other Names (World)
Great Bowerbird, Bowerbird, Great Grey Bowerbird, Great Gray Bowerbird, Lilac-naped Bowerbird, Western Great Bowerbird, Eastern Bowerbird, Queensland Bowerbird, Great Spotted Bowerbird, Bone Bird

Family
Ptilonorhynchidae (Bowerbirds)

Size
33 - 37 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Jardine & Selby, 1830)

Derivation
Chlam-ÿd'-er-a - Gk, chlamys, mantle; Gk, dere, neck: nu-chä'-lis - L., naped

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common. Sedentary.

Habitat
Mainly open sclerophyll woodlands and forests.

Range (Guide)
Australia (B).

Image of Range of Great Bowerbird
 
From the Kimberley through tropical northern Australia to a point below Mackay, Qld.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually singly or in groups of up to 6. In non-breeding period will also congregate in groups of up to 30 or more.

Food
Omnivorous. Mainly fruit, but also invertebrates, especially insects, and occasionally seeds and nectar.

Voice


Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (31)...)

 
Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) [XC674461]
     by James Lambert from Charles Darwin University, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (subsong)

 
Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) [XC140176]
     by Fernand Deroussen from Kakadu National Park (near Kakadu), Northern Territory, Australia (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
August - February.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
Saucer-shaped, shallow, composed of thin dead twigs, lined with finer twigs and sometimes dry grass, placed in a thick bunch of twigs in a tree, up to about 8 meters above the ground.

Eggs (Guide)
1, sometimes 2; lustrous, grey-green to cream covered with umber, purple-grey and black lines, squiggles and spots; oval; about 42 x 29 mm. Incubation: about 21 days; by female. One brood per season.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 20 days.

Subspecies
Hybridization with Spotted Bowerbird (Chlamydera maculata) recorded south-east of Charters Towers (eastern Queensland).

Proposed subspecies oweni (described from Point Torment, in northern Western Australia) and yorki (from Utingu, in extreme northern Queensland) synonymized with, respectively, nominate and orientalis.

The following 2 subspecies are recognised:

  • nuchalis (Jardine & Selby, 1830)   -  Northern Australia from Dampier Land, Kimberley Divide, north-western WA, east to Arnhem Land, NT, including Tiwi Island and Groote Eylandt and central-southern head of Gulf of Carpentaria, Qld, extending inland to the headwaters of the northern coastal drainages.
  • orientalis Gould, 1879   -  Cape York Peninsula and north-eastern Qld except ultra-humid eastern sectors south to Burdekin River Drainage Basin and along the coast to the region of Mackay.



References
See References.

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


Files:
JPG files for Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) - 10 filesMP3 files for Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) - 1 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Great Bowerbird see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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