Bowerbirds

Front Cover
Csiro Publishing, 2008 - Nature - 136 pages
The bowerbirds are famed for their unique bower-building behaviour which, in some species, can be a complex construction of sticks and other vegetable matter that can grow to two metres or so in diameter and about one and a half metres high. Many species are also accomplished mimics, and are able to copy the calls of other bird species, other natural and mechanical sounds and even human speech. These fascinating birds are confined to Australia and New Guinea and, due to the difficulty in accessing certain areas of their distribution, the study of their habits has been challenging. This book aims to condense the published knowledge acquired by ornithologists that have studied the bowerbirds since their discovery, and deliver it in a format suitable for natural history enthusiasts at any level.
 

Contents

1 Introduction
1
2 Classification and morphology
7
3 Habitat distribution and conservation
15
4 Bower evolution and sexual behaviour
21
5 Species accounts
27
6 New Guinea species supplement
113
Bibliography
122
Index
131
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2008)

Peter Rowland worked periodically for the bird and reptile departments at the Australian Museum from 1983 to 2003, and has travelled throughout Australia, New Caledonia and the United Kingdom, studying and photographing wildlife. Peter has written two books and five scientific articles on the birds of Australia and New Guinea, and has contributed written and photographic material to many other publications. In 1998 Peter was a recipient of the Whitely Award for literature.

Bibliographic information