City-sparked showmanship: urban bowerbirds dazzle with human-made trinkets
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.