Crossword clues for bowerbird
Wiktionary
n. (alternative spelling of bower bird English)
WordNet
n. any of various birds of the Australian region whose males build ornamented structures resembling bowers in order to attract females [syn: catbird]
Wikipedia
Bowerbirds make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate.
The family has 20 species in eight genera. These are medium to large-sized passerines, ranging from the golden bowerbird at and to the great bowerbird at and . Their diet consists mainly of fruit but may also include insects (especially for nestlings), flowers, nectar and leaves in some species. The satin and spotted bowerbirds are sometimes considered agricultural pests due to their habit of feeding on introduced fruit and vegetable crops and have occasionally been killed by affected orchardists.
The bowerbirds have an Austro-Papuan distribution, with ten species endemic to New Guinea, eight endemic to Australia, and two found in both. Although their distribution is centered on the tropical regions of New Guinea and northern Australia, some species extend into central, western, and southeastern Australia. They occupy a range of different habitats, including rainforest, eucalyptus and acacia forest, and shrublands.
Usage examples of "bowerbird".
Terran species, the bowerbird, which constructs an elaborate bower fifty times his size and then decorates it with orchids and berries to attract the female.
After all this time, people were just another tool-using animal in the ecology, like beavers or bowerbirds, still little more than glorified chimps.
At most, the visitor might have mentioned humans along with beavers, bowerbirds, and army ants as examples of species with curious behavior.
Naturally, men did not evolve muscles solely to impress other men and women, in the way that male bowerbirds evolved a golden crest solely as a signal to impress other bowerbirds.
The bowerbirds of Australia and New Guinea decorate their courting grounds with everything from beetle wings to pilfered car keys.
A courtship ritual that I find appealing is practiced by the bowerbirds of New Guinea and Australia.