28/08/2026
Did you know that female and young male Satin Bowerbirds look alike? I didn't, but I did wonder why I always saw more of the brown/green ones. Collectively, they are called "green " birds. They are olive/green above, off white with dark scalloping below, with brown wings and tails. Their bill is brown and they have blue eyes.
Immature males develop a paler bill and their iris starts to turn towards purple over time. They may start to acquire their adult plumage in their 5th year but are not fully blue/black until they are about 7 or 8 years old!
The adult male, who is mostly solitary, has a striking blue/black plumage, which is particularly glossy in sunlight, a creamy/white bill and a gorgeous purple or violet/mauve iris.
The Satin Bowerbird habitat varies from your backyard to the wetter forests, woodlands and rainforests. They eat mostly fruit as adults, but nestlings are fed beetles, grasshoppers and cicadas until they can fly.
Many of us have heard about their bower, which the male builds out of sticks, decorating it with blue, yellow and shiny objects, berries, flowers, snail shells and plastic items such as pens, straws, bottle tops and clothes pegs. As males mature, they choose more blue objects than other colours. Their highly complex courtship behaviour includes dancing to woo a potential mate. The female visits the bower and chooses her mate.
Their average life span is about 8-9 years.
