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What the sources say

Vogelkop BowerbirdAmblyornis inornata

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Vogelkop Bowerbird profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 38 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance

Bowerbird. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

The page saysMainly fruit, occasionally insects, spiders and seeds
The source saysAll bowerbirds are frugivores, living mainly on the fruits of trees and bushes; occasionally, they eat insects, spiders, and seeds.Note: San Diego Zoo's page is family-wide (Ptilonorhynchidae); used only for this generic, family-level diet statement, never for this species' own mass, length or lifespan.
The page saystags: frugivore
The source saysAll bowerbirds are frugivoresNote: task #601; replaces insectivore. San Diego Zoo's page is family-wide but the sentence is explicitly about all bowerbirds, this one included: "All bowerbirds are frugivores, living mainly on the fruits of trees and bushes; occasionally, they eat insects, spiders, and seeds." Insectivore is "hunting insects, spiders, and grubs", which that sentence puts at "occasionally".

Source
02

Diamond 1986

Diamond (1986). Animal art: Variation in bower decorating style among male bowerbirds Amblyornis inornatus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The page saysthe most elaborately decorated structure erected by an animal other than humans
The source saysthe most elaborately decorated structures erected by an animal other than humans
The page saysin a style that changes from range to range
The source saysvary geographically and individually
The page saysBuilds a different bower style depending on population, which may be a partly learned tradition passed down like a human art style
The source saysBower style may be partly learned. Hence, geographically varying bower styles may be a culturally transmitted trait, like human art styles.
The page saysmales in the south Kumawa Mountains build tall stick towers glued together, standing on a circular mat of dead moss painted black and decorated with dull objects like snail shells, acorns and stones
The source saysBowers in the south Kumawa Mountains are tall towers of sticks glued together, resting on a circular mat of dead moss painted black, and decorated with dull objects such as snail shells, acorns, and stones.Note: Shared verbatim between the body's second section and FAQ 1 (which drops the 'A study of the species found that' lead-in).
The page saysmales in the Wandamen Mountains build low, woven towers roofed by a stick hut with an entrance, standing on a green moss mat and decorated with colorful fruit, flowers and butterfly wings
The source saysBowers in the Wandamen Mountains are low woven towers covered by a stick hut with an entrance, resting on a green moss mat and decorated with colorful objects such as fruits, flowers, and butterfly wings.Note: Shared verbatim between the body's second section and FAQ 1.
The page saysYoung males build simpler versions
The source saysYoung males build simpler bowers, and adult males differ among themselves.Note: Shared verbatim between the body's second section and FAQ 1.
The page saysadult males still differ from one another
The source saysand adult males differ among themselvesNote: Shared verbatim between the body's second section and FAQ 1.
The page saysBower style may be partly learned, the researcher who described it suggested, which would make these geographically varying styles a culturally transmitted trait, like human art styles.
The source saysBower style may be partly learned. Hence, geographically varying bower styles may be a culturally transmitted trait, like human art styles.
The page saysBowers like these are, in the words of the study that compared them across two mountain ranges, "the most elaborately decorated structures erected by an animal other than humans."
The source saysthe most elaborately decorated structures erected by an animal other than humans
The page saysNo, and the difference is dramatic.
The source saysvary geographically and individuallyNote: Framing sentence for FAQ 1's bower-style contrast.
The page saysResearchers tested this by leaving out poker chips in seven different colors as decorations.
The source saysExperiments with poker chips of seven colors offered as decorations
The page saysIndividual birds preferred some colors over others, different populations preferred different colors, birds placed certain chips in specific parts of the bower, and they stole chips out of neighboring bowers.
The source saysindividual birds prefer some colors over others, individuals and populations differ in these preferences, certain objects are placed in specific parts of the bower, and birds steal chips from neighbors

Source
03

Uy & Borgia 2000

Uy & Borgia (2000). SEXUAL SELECTION DRIVES RAPID DIVERGENCE IN BOWERBIRD DISPLAY TRAITS. Evolution.

The page saysA later study of two populations found that they barely differ genetically, yet females in the one with the more elaborate display prefer its divergent decorations and bower.
The source saysprovide direct evidence of female preferences for divergent decoration and bower traits in the population with more elaborate display, and show that there is minimal genetic differentiation between these populations

Source
04

Ericson et al. 2020

Ericson et al. (2020). Parallel Evolution of Bower-Building Behavior in Two Groups of Bowerbirds Suggested by Phylogenomics. Systematic Biology.

The page saysSome biologists who study the bowerbird family think the bower has effectively taken over the job feathers do in showier relatives, moving a male's display off his own body and onto a structure that does not make him easier for a predator to spot
The source saysSome evolutionary benefits of this transfer would be to decouple the ornamentations from the constraints of the bird’s physiology and to reduce male conspicuousness to predators (Diamond 1986)Note: Ericson et al. 2020 attributes this hypothesis to Diamond 1986; presented as a proposed idea, hedged with 'some', not settled fact. Shared verbatim between the body's first section and FAQ 3.
The page saysa courtship structure that males of his family use, along with their displays, to attract females
The source saysThe males use these courtship bowers, along with their displays, to attract females.Note: Ericson et al. is family-level, so the page says "males of his family".
The page saysIn this family the female alone builds the nest and rears the young
The source saysthe female alone performs nest building and rearing of the youngNote: Family-level in the source, and scoped that way on the page.

Source
05

Frith & Frith 2004

Frith & Frith (2004). Morphology, demography, bower sites, structures, and their significance. Bird Families of the World.

The page saysgenerally brown, while several of the species' close relatives wear elongate, erectile crests of brilliant orange or yellow
The source saysBoth sexes of the Tooth-billed and Vogelkop Bowerbirds are generally brown, whereas adult males of the remaining three, and otherwise brown, gardeners and the all black Archbold's wear elongate erectile crests of brilliant orange or yellow.Note: Shared verbatim between the body's first section and FAQ 3.
The page saysA generally brown bird
The source saysBoth sexes of the Tooth-billed and Vogelkop Bowerbirds are generally brown
The page saysgenerally brown while its close relatives wear erectile crests of brilliant orange or yellow
The source saysBoth sexes of the Tooth-billed and Vogelkop Bowerbirds are generally brown, whereas adult males of the remaining three, and otherwise brown, gardeners and the all black Archbold's wear elongate erectile crests of brilliant orange or yellow.Note: vibe.reason, task #601; the band, song, genre and music description are unchanged.

Source
06

Noske, Wonggor & Prativi 2025

Noske, Wonggor & Prativi (2025). Breeding season, nest, egg and nestling of the Vogelkop Bowerbird Amblyornis inornatus in the Arfak Mountains, West Papua. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club.

The page saysMontane forest of New Guinea's Bird's Head and Neck, in Indonesia's West Papua province
The source saysEndemic to the Bird′s Head and Neck of New Guinea in the Indonesian province of West Papua
The page saysincluding the Arfak Mountains
The source saysin the Arfak Mts. on the east side of the Vogelkop Peninsula
The page saysHe builds a bower instead
The source saysall of which occur in montane forest in New Guinea, build maypole bowersNote: Noske et al. at genus scope: all Amblyornis species, this one included, build maypole bowers.
The page saysOnly two nests had been described
The source saysOnly two nests of Vogelkop Bowerbird have been described to date, both found in the Arfak Mts. on the east side of the Vogelkop Peninsula.Note: Shared verbatim between the body's third section and FAQ 4. 'Before' narrates the same sequence the source itself uses ('described to date', then results '[b]etween 2008 and 2014').
The page saysat elevations between roughly 1,500 and 2,000 meters
The source saysat elevations between c.1,500 m and c.2,000 m
The page saysresearchers found nine more between 2008 and 2014
The source saysBetween 2008 and 2014, we found nine nests in the Arfak Mts.
The page saysEvery one held a single egg or a single nestling
The source saysAll nests contained either one egg (n = 5) or a single nestling (n = 4) when discoveredNote: The nine nests found in 2008-2014; shared between the body's third section and FAQ 4.
The page saysThe birds may breed twice a year, with egg-laying peaking in May to June and again from October to January
The source saysa biannual breeding season, with peaks in May–June and October–JanuaryNote: Shared verbatim between the body's third section and FAQ 4.
The page saysOne nestling was about 7.5 centimeters long from bill tip to tail, with long greyish-brown down over its head and back
The source sayswas c.7.5 cm long from bill tip to ‘tail′, and had a covering of long greyish-brown down over the head and dorsal surface
The page saysSurprisingly little.
The source saysdespite its bowers attracting much attention, the species′ breeding biology is poorly knownNote: Framing sentence for FAQ 4.
The page saysDespite the attention paid to bowers, almost nobody had found a Vogelkop bowerbird nest.
The source saysdespite its bowers attracting much attention, the species′ breeding biology is poorly knownNote: Framing sentence opening the body's third section.
The page saysone egg, pure white, measured 41.4 by 29.2 millimeters
The source saysa single pure white egg that measured 41.4 × 29.2 mmNote: Nest 2, June 2014; shared between the body's third section and FAQ 4.
The page sayswhat biologists call
The source saysWidely regarded as the most complex and elaborately decorated structure built by an animal other than Homo sapiens
The page saysNine Nests in the Arfak Mountains
The source saysBetween 2008 and 2014, we found nine nests in the Arfak Mts.
The page saystags: forest
The source saysall of which occur in montane forest in New GuineaNote: task #601; replaces rainforest, which no cached source states for this species. Noske et al. at genus scope. utils/biome.ts already derives 'forest' from the corrected habitat line, so tag and text now agree. The mountains tag is kept: the same paper has the species at 1,050-1,450 m in the Kumawa Mts. and 1,200-2,000 m in the Arfaks.
The page saysputs its decoration into a structure it builds instead
The source saysall of which occur in montane forest in New Guinea, build maypole bowersNote: vibe.reason, task #601; Noske et al. at genus scope, as elsewhere on the page.

Source
07

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018

Amblyornis inornata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22703644A130219341.

The page saysLeast Concern
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC).

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.