Alternative name: Satin-bird
- Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Identification
27-33cm.
Male
- Black with a glossy purple-blue sheen
- Dull blue bill with a yellow tip
- Eye bright sapphire-blue to lilac in colour.
Female
- Greenish back and rump
- Green speckled breast
- Brown tail and primaries.
- Bill dark grey
- Eye lilac to turquoise
Distribution
There are 2 populations, one isolated in the wet tropics of north Queensland and the second from south Queensland to Victoria, Australia.
Quite common in remaining habitat.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized:
- P. v. minor in north-east Queensland
- P. v. violaceus in southeast Queensland to Victoria
There are two documented hybrids with Regent Bowerbird.
Habitat
Rainforest and nearby wet eucalypt forests.
Behaviour
Feeds mainly on fruits, but takes also some flowers, leaves, seeds and animals (mostl insects), feeding both in rainforest canopy fruiting trees, as well as on the ground.
Breeding season from late August to January. A polygynous species. The male builds and attends a bower to attract females. They build a nest alone and also breed alone.
The avenue bower contains all sorts of blue things is built by the male; the female will visit, and if she is sufficiently impressed, will mate with the male.
The nest is a shallow saucer made of sticks and twigs. It's placed 2 - 40m above the ground in a tree or a bush. Lays 1 - 3 eggs.
A mainly resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Satin Bowerbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Satin_Bowerbird
