---
title: "What the sources say about the Satin Bowerbird | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "45 claims from the Satin Bowerbird profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Satin Bowerbird (*Ptilonorhynchus violaceus*)

> 45 claims from the Satin Bowerbird profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Satin Bowerbird](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/satin-bowerbird/)

## Ptilonorhynchus violaceus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22703679A130219832.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22703679a130219832.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species rates the satin bowerbird Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Satin Bowerbird. Birds in Backyards.

https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Ptilonorhynchus-violaceus

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Stick-avenue builder, blue-object collector, and a courtship act of buzzes, rattles and mimicry | This consists of two parallel walls of sticks ... The male decorates it with bright blue coloured objects that it collects ... accompanied by a variety of mechanical-sounding calls, such as buzzing and rattling interspersed with mimicry |
| Wetter forests and woodlands, and nearby open areas, along most of Australia's eastern and south-eastern coast | Satin Bowerbirds are found along most of the eastern and south-eastern coast of Australia. Habitat: Satin Bowerbirds prefer the wetter forests and woodlands, and nearby open areas |
| Mostly fruit year-round, plus insects in the breeding season and often leaves in winter | Satin Bowerbirds feed mostly on fruits throughout the year. During summer (breeding) the diet is supplemented with a large number of insects, while leaves are often eaten during the winter months. |
| Builds a twin-walled stick avenue bower and decorates it with blue objects to attract females | building and decorating a bower to attract females. This consists of two parallel walls of sticks ... The male decorates it with bright blue coloured objects that it collects |
| A satin bowerbird is a stocky, medium-sized bird of Australia's eastern coast | What shape is the bird?: Heavyset ... Satin Bowerbirds are medium-sized birds. ... Satin Bowerbirds are found along most of the eastern and south-eastern coast of Australia. |
| It measures 27 to 33 centimetres long | Minimum Size: 27cm Maximum Size: 33cm |
| about 204 grams on average | Average size: 30cm Average weight: 204g |
| The adult male is glossy blue-black | The adult male has striking glossy blue-black plumage ... Younger males and females are similar in colour to each other, and are collectively referred to as 'green' birds. |
| Younger males and females look alike, olive-green above and off-white with dark scalloping below, and are known as "green" birds | Younger males and females are similar in colour to each other, and are collectively referred to as 'green' birds. They are olive-green above, off-white with dark scalloping below |
| A young male may begin to grow his adult feathers in his fifth year, but he isn't fully "attired" in blue-black until he is seven | Young males may begin to acquire their adult plumage in their fifth year and are not fully 'attired' until they are seven. |
| To attract females, a male builds a bower on the ground: two parallel walls of sticks with an avenue between them | building and decorating a bower to attract females. This consists of two parallel walls of sticks, is built on the ground ... the female moves into the bower avenue for mating |
| He decorates it with blue objects he collects | The male decorates it with bright blue coloured objects that it collects |
| Away from people, most decorations are bright blue parrot feathers, flowers and brown snail shells | bright blue parrot feathers, flowers and brown snail shells, make up the majority of decorations away from human habitation |
| Near people, his favourite stolen items include blue clothes pegs, drinking straws and bottle tops | blue clothes pegs, drinking straws and bottle tops are among the favourite stolen items, while bright blue parrot feathers, flowers and brown snail shells, make up the majority of decorations away from human habitation |
| When a female arrives, the male leaps into a set routine of exaggerated moves, such as strutting and bowing with his wings outstretched and quivering | On the arrival of a female, the male Satin Bowerbird leaps into a ritualised display of exaggerated movements, such as strutting and bowing, with wings outstretched and quivering |
| He usually holds one of his decorations in his bill and gives mechanical-sounding buzzing and rattling calls mixed with mimicry | accompanied by a variety of mechanical-sounding calls, such as buzzing and rattling interspersed with mimicry. One of the bower decorations is usually carried in the male's bill. |
| If she is impressed, she moves into the avenue to mate, then leaves to nest on her own | If impressed, the female moves into the bower avenue for mating and then leaves to perform the nesting duties on her own |
| Satin bowerbirds live along most of Australia's eastern and south-eastern coast | Satin Bowerbirds are found along most of the eastern and south-eastern coast of Australia. |
| They prefer the wetter forests and woodlands and nearby open areas, though birds around the Atherton Tableland live largely in rainforest | Satin Bowerbirds prefer the wetter forests and woodlands, and nearby open areas, although those around the Atherton Tableland are largely rainforest inhabitants. |
| Fruit makes up most of the diet throughout the year | Satin Bowerbirds feed mostly on fruits throughout the year. |
| In summer, the breeding season, they also eat a large number of insects, and in winter they often eat leaves | During summer (breeding) the diet is supplemented with a large number of insects, while leaves are often eaten during the winter months. |
| Seven years | A male Satin Bowerbird only develops his wonderful satiny sheen after seven years. |
| Younger males look like females: olive-green above and off-white with dark scalloping below | Younger males and females are similar in colour to each other, and are collectively referred to as 'green' birds. They are olive-green above, off-white with dark scalloping below |
| A young male may begin to grow his adult feathers in his fifth year, but he isn't fully "attired" until he is seven | Young males may begin to acquire their adult plumage in their fifth year and are not fully 'attired' until they are seven. |
| courtship song mixes mechanical-sounding buzzes and rattles with calls copied from other species | accompanied by a variety of mechanical-sounding calls, such as buzzing and rattling interspersed with mimicry (note: vibe.reason, settled in #274: replaces 'dramatic emotional architecture', which named no mechanism) |

## Satin Bowerbird. Australian Museum, 2022.

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/satin-bowerbird/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| He paints the walls with a mixture of chewed plant matter and saliva, and maintains the bower meticulously throughout the year | A mixture of chewed vegetable matter and saliva is used to paint the walls of the bower. The bower owner meticulously maintains it throughout the year. |
| He uses a mixture of chewed plant matter and saliva to paint the walls of his bower, and he maintains the bower meticulously throughout the year | A mixture of chewed vegetable matter and saliva is used to paint the walls of the bower. The bower owner meticulously maintains it throughout the year. |

## Satin Bowerbird. BirdLife Australia.

https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/satin-bowerbird/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Where blue items are hard to find, he occasionally adds other colours, especially greenish-yellow | Occasionally objects of different colours, especially greenish-yellow, are also used where blue items are difficult to procure. |
| To help attract a mate | These are carefully arranged around the bower to assist the male to attract a mate. |
| A male decorates his bower with all kinds of blue objects, collected nearby and sometimes from farther away | Satin Bowerbirds are renowned for decorating their bowers with all manner of blue objects collected from the vicinity of the bower and sometimes from farther afield. |
| They can include parrot feathers, flowers, seed pods, fruits, butterfly wings, and human-made items such as pens, matchboxes, string, marbles and pieces of glass | These odds and ends may comprise feathers from parrots, flowers, seed pods and fruits, butterfly wings and artificial items such as ball-point pens, matchboxes, string, marbles and pieces of glass. |
| Where blue is hard to find, he occasionally uses other colours, especially greenish-yellow | Occasionally objects of different colours, especially greenish-yellow, are also used where blue items are difficult to procure. |

## Bowerbird. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bowerbird

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| weighs 170 to 290 grams | Heaviest: Satin bowerbird weighs 5.9 to 10.2 ounces (170 to 290 grams) |
| It is the heaviest bowerbird | SIZE Largest: Archbold's bowerbird is 15 inches (37 centimeters) long Heaviest: Satin bowerbird weighs 5.9 to 10.2 ounces (170 to 290 grams) |
| Both males and females are known to live 20 to 30 years | both males and female satin bowerbirds are known to live 20 to 30 years |

## Doucet et al. (2006). Iridescent plumage in satin bowerbirds: structure, mechanisms and nanostructural predictors of individual variation in colour. Journal of Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01988

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| His shine is built in layers | In birds, iridescent colours are produced by feather barbules when light is scattered from alternating layers of keratin, melanin and air. ... the glossy, ultraviolet-blue iridescent plumage colouration of adult male satin bowerbirds |
| Scientists looked at feathers from adult males of one subspecies under an electron microscope | Here we use electron microscopy, spectrometry and thin-film optical modeling to investigate the glossy, ultraviolet-blue iridescent plumage colouration of adult male satin bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus minor. |
| The tiny strands on each feather, called barbules, are flat. They have an outer layer of keratin (the protein feathers are made of) over a layer of melanin, a dark pigment, several granules thick | The flattened barbules of adult males are composed of a superficial keratin layer overlying a melanin layer that is several granules thick. |
| Light waves scattering off these layers combine to make the glossy ultraviolet-blue shine | Iridescence is produced by coherent scattering of light waves from alternating layers of materials of different refractive indices. ... the glossy, ultraviolet-blue iridescent plumage colouration of adult male satin bowerbirds |
| small differences in the barbules can predict differences in colour between males | we found that individual variation in barbule nanostructure can predict measured variation in both hue and UV-chroma |

## Patricelli, Uy & Borgia (2003). Multiple male traits interact: attractive bower decorations facilitate attractive behavioural displays in satin bowerbirds. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2003.2530

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Successful males give aggressive, intense displays without startling the female | successful males give highly aggressive, intense behavioural displays without startling females |
| He adjusts to her crouching, which signals how intense a display she will tolerate | Males do this by modulating their displays in response to female crouching, which signals the display intensity that females will tolerate without being startled. |
| Researchers found evidence that females are less likely to be startled by males with better bower decorations, which helps those males succeed | finding evidence that females are less likely to be startled by males with better physical displays (bower decorations), and this reduced startling then contributes to male courtship success |

## Coleman et al. (2007). Female preferences drive the evolution of mimetic accuracy in male sexual displays. Biology Letters.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2007.0234

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| whose mating success is tied to how accurately he copies them | the accuracy of vocal mimicry and the number of model species mimicked are both independently related to male mating success (note: vibe.reason, settled in #274; 'tied to' for 'related to') |