Bowerbirds

For most British birders, their experience of Bowerbirds has been limited to David Attenborough’s marvellous film and commentary on the Vogelkop Bowerbird’s elaborate construction of a maypole tent, wide stage and fussily-arranged decorations. If this whetted your appetite Peter Rowland’s book on the Bowerbirds will go some way towards a satisfying meal. Eight species occur only in Australia, a further ten are endemic to New Guinea and two are shared. They range from the monogamous green catbirds which do not build bowers, through the stage-makers who clear a stage on the forest floor and decorate it with a few leaves to the avenue-builders like the Satin Bowerbird who also paint their constructions and lavishly decorate them, often with man-made items like clothespegs and plastic straws. The most complex bowers are those of the maypole builders of the rainforests of New Guinea like the Vogelkop Bowerbird.

Rowland describes the Australian species in detail and has a supplementary chapter on the New Guinea species on which information is decidedly scanty due to their often inaccessible and remote habitat. There are chapters describing classification, habitat and conservation, and the evolution of bower-construction as well as the species accounts and a robust bibliography. While there have been several monographs on the family, one as recent as 2004, this is a good, informative introduction to this fascinating group. The family seem to touch the human psyche with their architecture and artistry yet the love of “bling”, mostly polygamous lifestyles and “designer” plumage puts them on the celebrity A-list.

Book reviewed by Anne Carrington-Cotton