#Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

[great-and-small]

Satin bowerbirds are one of those species that even if you already knew they were really cool to begin with doing a deep dive on papers about them will blow your mind. For example just some tidbits off the top

Mature male bowerbirds have such an insanely keen eye for spatial reasoning that they routinely use optical illusions and forced perspective to alter the appearance of their bower. Males that are better at this have better success in mating

It takes about 7 years for male bowerbirds to mature and prior to their adult plumage coming in they look essentially identical to adult females. So sometimes groups of juvenile males will form little social flocks together as they mature and they’ll pretend to be females in order to steal nest decor from mature males. They grow up learning how to build their bowers with stolen trinkets and practicing their courtship dances with one another.

Bowerbirds are probably the longest living passerine species (with one making it to 26 years old)

Infection with blood parasites alters the iridescence of male bowerbirds’s feathers, and females may use this as a marker of suitability when choosing a mate

Bowerbirds love flowers and specifically prefer rare species to more common ones

Seriously recommend that you type ‘Ptilonorhynchus violaceus’ into google scholar when you have some free time and just go ham learning about these weirdos

[haveyouseenthisbirdpoll]

Photo source 1

Photo source 2

[podartists]

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus | Joseph Wolf (1820-1899)

[birdblues]

Satin Bowerbird

[herpsandbirds]

Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), immature male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, Paluma National Park, Queensland, Australia

photograph by Grahame Rosen

[bird-of-the-day]

BOTD: Satin Bowerbird

^Image credit: Joseph C. Boone

Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) 

Bowerbirds are known for their complex courtship behaviour. Male Satin Bowerbirds build structures of sticks, called 'bowers', and decorated with blue, yellow, and shiny objects. As they mature, they use blue objects more than other colours, and it is speculated that blue is preferred as it accentuates the colour of the male's plumage, or perhaps blue is a more familiar colour.

[tsiwant]

10 - Oiseaux adorables en Vidéo C'est la grandeur du Créateur adoré, Gloire à Celui qui a créé les oiseaux dans leurs belles formes. هذه عظمة الخالق المعبود سبحان الذي خلق الطيور بأشكالها الجميلة La vidéo comprend les photos des oiseaux très mignons, mais qui, malheureusement ne sont pas nommés; je m’en excuse, j’essaierai de citer leurs noms très prochainement dans un commentaire. je suis de retour comme promis, pour vous donner les noms des oiseaux (30 au total) que comprend cette vidéo selon l’ordre de leur présentation; il s’agit de: 1- Jardinier satiné (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)-femelle 2- Tragopan de Cabot (Tragopan caboti) 3 - Faisan leucomèle (Lophura leucomelanos) 4 - Faisan de Colchide, faisan à collier ou faisan de chasse (Phasianus colchicus) 5 - pigeon moucheté (Columba guinée), ou pigeon de roche (africain) 6 - Lophophore resplendissant (Lophophorus impejanus) 7 - Ganga de Lichtenstein (Pterocles lichtensteinii) 8 - Faisan vénéré (Syrmaticus reevesii) 9 - Pintade de Pucheran (Guttera pucherani) ou pintade huppée 10- Tragopan de Hastings (Tragopan melanocephalus) 11- Faisan doré (Chrysolophus pictus) 12- Tragopan de Cabot (tête). 13- Tragopan ocellé (lat. Tragopan temminckii) 14- Perdrix gambra (Alectoris barbara) 15- Francolin noir Francolinus francolinus 16- Lagopède alpin (Lagopus muta) 17- Tétras du Canada (Canachites canadensis) 18- colombe impériale verte (Ducula aenea) 19- Tourterelle tigrine_Spilopelia chinensis ou Tourterelle tachetée 20- Guiraca bleu (Passerina caerulea) ou Gros-bec bleu 21- Lophophore resplendissant-Lophophorus impejanus 2 22- Éperonnier de Bornéo (Polyplectron schleiermacheri) 23- Colombine longup  ou  Colombe lophote 24- Lophophore resplendissant-Lophophorus impejanus femelle 25-Pic canente (Hemicircus canente) male. 26-Hokki du Tibet (Crossoptilon harmani) 27-Jardinier satiné (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)-femelle _2 28-Tragopan de Cabot (tête_2). 29-faisan doré (tête). 30-Martin-pêcheur tacheté (Megaceryle lugubris)

[arual147]

Chapters: 1/5 Fandom: Homestuck Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Orphaner Dualscar/The Psiioniic | The Helmsman Characters: Orphaner Dualscar, The Psiioniic | The Helmsman, The Dolorosa (Homestuck), The Signless | The Sufferer Additional Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Miscarriage, Fertility Issues, Child Loss, Depression, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mpreg, Eggpreg, But is it really mpreg if theyre functionally hermaphroditic aliens who happen to be male presenting, Dualscar has a bad time and Psii is oblivious Series: Part 2 of Aviary (Dualpsii hemoflip) Summary:

The satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) is a bowerbird endemic to eastern Australia.

Like all bowerbirds, the satin bowerbird shows highly complex courtship behaviour. Males build specialised stick structures, called bowers, which they decorate with blue, yellow, and shiny objects, including berries, flowers, snail shells, and plastic items such as ballpoint pens, drinking straws and clothes pegs.

----------------

Sequel to Rara Avis

[sitting-on-me-bum]

SATIN SPOTLIGHT

SATIN BOWERBIRD ( Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)

Mulgoa, New South Wales

Photo Credit: David Stowe, New South Wales

AG Nature Photographer of the Year 2020: Animal portrait shortlist

[wingedjewels]

Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia by Daniel J. Field

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

By Joseph C. Boone, CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology: Feather Bill

First Described By: Kuhl, 1820

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Climacterides, Ptilonorhynchidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary Period 

Ptilonorhynchus, the Satin Bowerbird, is primarily known from the Eastern coast of Australia 

Physical Description: The Satin Bowerbird is a large bird, reaching about 32.5 centimeters in length and up to 290 grams in weight - making it about the same size as the common Rock Pigeon. The Satin Bowerbird is a bulky passerine, with a medium-length, pointed bill and a fairly long body, and a long tail. This bird is sexually dimorphic, with the males having a very distinct appearance. The males are black in color, but the feathers have a distinct iridescent blue sheen over them, while the underbelly and thighs are less glossy than the rest of the body. Their eyes are vividly purple, while the legs and bill are more pale in color. The females, on the other hand, are much more dull in color - they are brown, with some olive-green tint to the underfeathers and back feathers, with longer tails and pale yellow underbellies that are striped across. 

By Streetsweeper, CC BY-SA 2.0

The juveniles are usually brownish olive, with browner black feathers. The males look like females for the first three years of life, though their wing feathers are more pointed; in the fourth year they become darker, as the feathers over the body slowly transition from green to darker black and shiny. By the sixth year the males have an odd patchwork of blue-black feathers and green ones; they reach full maturity at about eight years of age. The females, on the other hand, become mature within three years.

Diet: The Satin Bowerbird feeds mainly on fruit, but it will supplement its diet with flowers, leaves, nectar, seeds, and insects. The hatchlings almost entirely insects brought by the parents, especially scarab beetles and cicadas.

Behavior: Satin Bowerbirds feed at all levels of the tree canopy, plucking fruit from high up off of the ground and gleaning animals from lower levels. They usually don’t use fly over techniques to find animal-based food. They will forage alone, or with their families; though they do join mixed-species flocks. In the winter, they form flocks of up to 200 individuals, which fly together to find plants in pastures and gardens. They, in general, do not migrate; some that live in the woods will travel to more open habitats during the winter. The males often do leave their bower locations during the non-breeding season. 

By Summ, CC BY-SA 3.0

The most interesting thing about Satin Bowerbirds, of course, would be their mating behaviors. Male Bowerbirds create stick houses, called bowers, that they decorate to attract mates. The Satin Bowerbird is one of the best known of these dinosaurs, and their bower behavior has been well studied. Young male Satin Bowerbirds will use a variety of blue, yellow, and shiny objects to decorate their bowers, but they transition to more blue objects as they age. Oftentimes, the males will use the same bower sites for over 30 years - they are attached to their bower sites and will remain with them, though they aren’t territorial besides defending their particular bower site. The male makes the bower by placing sticks upright, making two separate towers of sticks that curve towards each other; he then will add grass straw to the ground of the bower as foundation. Then, the male will continue to add twigs until they meet and intermesh above the grass foundation. The grass straw on the ground does extend beyond the walls, though sometimes the bower will have a third wall, creating another path through the bower house. Sometimes, these structures can have more than 2000 sticks making up the walls.

These bowers are then decorated by the males - usually with what we would consider junk, but obviously, the Bowerbirds don’t feel the same! The items they grab can range from ballpoint pens, to straws, to caps, to flowers and berries, and even clothing - sometimes even skulls. Sometimes, the males will also paint the inside of the bower walls with charcoal, foliage, bark, and fruit. The objects are usually chosen by what catches the male’s eye, and over time he learns from experience what will attract a mate. The females will visit the bowers, and use the decor outside of the bower to determine their choice of mate. The males will also dance to woo the females, but they can be interpreted as threats rather than displays sometimes. First, the male buzzes while rapidly opening and closing its wings, picking up decorations and strutting directly in front of the female. Then, the male will mimic the female’s vocals, and raise and lower himself on his legs and comes towards the females with decorations in its bill. 

By Joseph C. Boone, CC BY-SA 4.0

The female decides whether or not to accept the male’s courtship in three steps. First, she visits bowers before nests are built, while males are absent, to judge the bowers without male interference. Then, the female visits the bowers before nests have been built while the males are present and displaying. Finally, the females will visit a limited number of bowers after nests have been born, and usually narrows down to a single male for copulation. Younger females make their decisions mostly based on the bowers; older females, on the mating displays. When that decision has been made, she will crouch and vibrate her wings, and raise her rump so that the male can mate with her.

The nests take about two weeks to build, by making a saucer of sticks and twigs and green leaves. Usually, these nests are built high up off of the ground, though sometimes closer to the ground. The height is mainly dependent on the density of vegetation. The clutch is usually 1 to 3 eggs, which is incubated for about three weeks by the female alone. The male, meanwhile, will solicit more females with his bower. The females will continue to take care of the young for three more weeks, usually by chasing away predators and competitors from within the species. They’ll even do a broken-wing distraction while mimicing predators in order to distract antagonistics. Both sexes live between 20 to thirty years in total.

Ecosystem: The Satin Bowerbird mainly lives in the rainforest, especially along the edges, and dry woodlands as well. The bower sites are usually dispersed evenly through woods and rainforests. The young are usually fed upon extensively, but the adults are not typically threatened quite as extensively.

Other: Subfossil Satin Bowerbirds are known, but they all exist within the Holocene - thus, they do not significantly extend the time range of this species.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the cut 

Coleman, S. W., G. L. Patricelli, G. Borgia. 2004. Variable female preferences drive complex male displays. Nature 428 (6984): 742 - 745.

Frith, C. & Frith, D. 2019. Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Higgins, P. J., J. M. Peter (eds.) Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-Thrushes.

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

[podartists]

Seidenlaubenvogel, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus | Die Vögel (1913) | Alfred Edmund Brehm (1829-1884) | Biodiversity Heritage Library

[beardale-blog1]

Satin Bowerbird by Bear Dale Via Flickr: The male Satin Bowerbird is a very striking bird with beautiful blue eyes.. Scientific name: Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

[herpsandbirds]

Bower birds, please!

Their nests are fascinating and beautiful. I love that they are crow-like in collecting pretty objects. IMO, decorating their nests is more than a seductive trail of rose petals leading to the boudoir. It demonstrates the male bower bird's ability to build a sturdy structure, keep a clean and tidy home, and has exquisite taste in home decor.

What do you think?

Thanks for keeping up with requests. You are awesome!

Oh yes, bowerbirds are awesome. Here are some cool bowerbirds for you...

Flame Bowerbird (Sericulus ardens), male showing off cool blue berry to impress a female, and male showing off his bower, family Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, endemic to New Guinea

photographs by Dustin Chen and Glen Bartley

Satin Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), T - immature male, B - adult male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, Paluma National Park, Queensland, Australia

photographs by Grahame Rosen & Joseph C Boone 

 MacGregor’s Bowerbird (Amblyornis macgregoriae), male calling, family Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, New Guinea

The male of the species builds an elaborate maypole type of structure which he dances and calls around, to impress females.

video via: Netflix: Behind the Streams

[robo-ratto]

Hawkeye’s Patented Mating Ritual #69: Gift your crush with your own merch as a symbol of your love.

You guessed it, it’s Fanfiction Appreciation Time! Ptilonorhynchus Violaceus, which I have no idea how to pronounce, is a great fic by @spidergwenstefani which is an awesome username. Please check out the fic and send some love to the author if you can! It’s really cute and soft and I promise you’ll like it!

Honestly, I just wanted to put Bucky in Hawkeye merch. And yes, he is wearing Hawkeye boxers under those pants and Hawkeye socks. And shoes. And a bracelet. And the t-shirt under that hoodie.

Should I do one of Clint in Winter Soldier merch too? (Yes, yes I should.)

Please do not repost without my permission! Re-blogging is very much welcomed, though! <3