Nov 15, 2025
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, QLD, Australia
photograph by Dave Arnold
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Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, QLD, Australia
photograph by Dave Arnold
Have you seen a Satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus)?
Yes, in nature
Yes, in captivity
No, only in pictures/taxidermy/I've only heard of it
No, and I have never heard of this bird
No, but I have heard one
I might have/I'm not sure
Photo source 1
Photo source 2
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
Satin Bowerbird by Bear Dale Via Flickr: The male Satin Bowerbird is a very striking bird with beautiful blue eyes.. Scientific name: Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), immature male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, Paluma National Park, Queensland, Australia
photograph by Grahame Rosen
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), male, Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia
photograph by Joseph C Boone