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Satin Bowerbird

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernEndemicOmnivoreForestCup nestMedium · 219 g
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 1
Photo: Caroline Jones · CC BY 2.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 2
Photo: rob21 · CC BY 4.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 3
Photo: TJ Jones · CC BY 4.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 4
Photo: quinkana · CC BY 4.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 5
Photo: Caroline Jones · CC BY 2.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 6
Photo: rob21 · CC BY 4.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 7
Photo: donalddavesne · CC BY 4.0
Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), photo 8
Photo: John Manger, CSIRO · CC BY 3.0

What the Satin Bowerbird sounds like

Sonogram of the Satin Bowerbird: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by James Ray · Song · Faulconbridge, Blue Mountains City Council, New South Wales, Australia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Satin Bowerbird: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by James Ray · Song · Faulconbridge, Blue Mountains City Council, New South Wales, Australia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto
Sonogram of the Satin Bowerbird: time runs left to right, pitch bottom to top, and the brighter the mark the louder the sound.
Recorded by James Ray · Call, song · Faulconbridge, Blue Mountains City Council, New South Wales, Australia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via xeno-canto

ID tip

Mature males have violet-blue eyes and are uniformly coloured black, however, light diffraction by the surface texture of the feathers results in an almost metallic sheen giving a deep shiny blue appearance. Immature males are coloured and marked the same as females and are often mistaken for them. Females might be mistaken for the green catbird or spotted catbird with distinctively green/brown or otherwise entirely brown upper body and lighter under body with a distinct reticulated or scalloped pattern, but with very striking blue eyes.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Satin Bowerbird

One bar for each month, and every month is filled: this bird is recorded here in all twelve. The wide bar is October, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Satin Bowerbird

Regular range

The map shades 1 country with regular records. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Australia

About the Satin Bowerbird

The satin bowerbird is a species of passerine bird in the bowerbird family Ptilonorhynchidae that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is the only species placed in the genus Ptilonorhynchus.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) Great BowerbirdChlamydera nuchalisThe great bowerbird is a common and conspicuous resident of northern Australia, from the area around Broome across the Top End to Cape York Peninsula and as far south as Mount Isa and Townsville. Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) Green CatbirdAiluroedus crassirostrisGreen catbirds are a medium-sized stocky bird with long, powerful legs and a long, stout bill. Regent Bowerbird (Sericulus chrysocephalus) Regent BowerbirdSericulus chrysocephalusThe regent bowerbird is a medium-sized, up to 25 cm long, sexually dimorphic bowerbird.

Side by side: Green Catbird vs Satin Bowerbird

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