All articles tagged with #bowerbirds
Scientists report a persistent east–west albedo symmetry around 27° E—a triple symmetry that climate models currently fail to reproduce and which could refine future climate projections—alongside briefs on dolphins using individual vocal labels to avoid coercive males, urban bowerbirds decorating with human trash, and titanosaurs’ bones hosting beetle-driven ichnofacies after death.
A University of Exeter study of great bowerbirds in rural vs. urban Australia finds urban birds decorate bowers with far more human-made items, favoring green glass and red wire, while rural birds stick to natural materials. Urban bowers average about 90 decorations (vs. ~20 rural) and even include items like handcuffs and medicine jars, suggesting urbanization is reshaping courtship displays and potentially influencing female mate choice, though direct effects on mating success were not measured.