ODIMBAR (One Day I Might Be A Raptor) was not here on 5 April 2017, but had set up his court by 14 April. From behaviour we have considered that he is newly adult-fledged, but he could be an older bird who has shifted his court. It is autumn and the courting that dominates reporting on bowerbirds is not due till spring.

As we begin this blog on 16 April 2017, we already have our hearts in our mouths, concerned that this new family member outside our suburban bedroom window will survive the competition and that his court may thrive. His day is busy: hunting, building, learning, asserting, defending, charming, singing, raucous caucusing and dancing.

And the evidence before us, of daily life, is much more complex than what one usually reads or views on Youtube, of isolated males building bowers in spring to try to entice picky females with whom their relations are fleeting. It's not like that at all here.

Saturday, May 6, 2017

Gerald Borgia's research on Satin Bowerbirds


I have discovered the page on the work of Gerald Borgia's lab at the University of Maryland, with its focus on issues in sexual selection in bowerbirds, as a model for understanding complex male display.

There is much to read, I have just begun. I will not be trying to summarise here. There are a number of interesting posters under Current Research.

There is information about volunteering as a field assistant to work in Australia—pay your own way there, get food and basic lodging, work quite hard, assess yourself for further study and ...  mind the snakes. The site appears to be in a remote mountain range area in northern New South Wales but I may be wrong. There is more than one 'Wallaby Creek' in NSW.

Also films and links to many research papers, which I've only begun to browse.
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