bowerbird

[bou-er-burd]

noun

1. any of several oscine birds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands, the males of which build bowerlike, decorated structures to attract the females.

bowerbird

/ ˈbaʊəˌbɜːd /

noun

1. any of various songbirds of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, of Australia and New Guinea. The males build bower-like display grounds in the breeding season to attract the females

2. informal,  a person who collects miscellaneous objects

Word History and Origins

Origin of bowerbird¹

First recorded in 1840–50; bower ¹ + bird

Example Sentences

Onstage and onscreen, we see a lot of blue: blue props, blue outfits and blue-centric video clips, including one in which a bowerbird builds a nest with bits of blue detritus.

Read more on New York Times

Scientists have documented several species of birds, including magpies, bowerbirds, and black kites, looting everything from discarded plastic to expensive jewelry to decorate their nests.

Read more on New York Times

Other species—birds of paradise and bowerbirds, in particular—also mount impressive sexual displays.

Read more on Science Magazine

In “The Bird Way,” Jennifer Ackerman takes a detailed look at the lives of birds — including their parenting strategies — like the bowerbird, the cuckoo and the kea.

Read more on New York Times

Both, for example, highlight the bowerbird, a finicky aesthete whose males woo their mates in elaborate courts of flowers, shells, even bits of plastic.

Read more on New York Times