Abstract
Bowerbirds are large soft bills of the
order Passeriformes, that inhabit
New Guinea and Australia! There are
18 species of bowerbirds, distributed
among eight genera!·2 These birds are
peculiar in that they have developed
their building skills to an extreme
degree, which they demonstrate in
their courtship display object: the
bower.
Bowerbirds were discovered early
after the first European settlers
reached Australia, although they
were not initially recognized as an
independent group and were classified
with the orioles and the honeysuckers~
Traditionally, these birds
have been considered relatives of the
birds of paradise. However, recent
DNA studies suggest that they are
more closely related to the wattlebirds
of New Zealand (family Callaeidae),
the starlings and the Corvine
assemblage?
Bowerbirds are not common avicultural
.subjects, but they are frequently
present in well stocked zoos.
They are rare in aviculture primarily
because their two main sources -
Australia and Papua New Guinea -
do not allow export of their avifauna
under any cicumstance except for
occasional exchange of surplus
domestically bred stock with zoos.
However, because Irian Jaya, the
wester region of the New Guinea
island, is part of Indonesia, a country
that does not restrict the export of
non-endangered avian species, it
should still be possible to obtain
some of the species from there. In
addition to the legal issues, the lack
of knowledge of the breeding habits
of the bowerbirds has caused them
not to be commonly bred even in
zoos, and there are, unfortunately,
too few aviculturists specializing in
softbills who have given attention to
this group of birds.
I have neither owned (yet) nor
bred any of the bowerbirds, however,
during my last visit to Australia
in July 1991 I was impressed to find
several species of bowerbirds well
established in public and private
Australian collections. I also met a
number of aviculturists who have
successfully bred these birds, including
Stan Sindel of New South Wales,
who was kind enough to give me
detailed verbal accounts of his methods
of husbandry. These data, in addition
to the published accounts of
breeding that have appeared elsewhere?
·6 are precious for aviculture. I
believe that public and private collections
owning bowerbirds may greatly
benefit from the application of the
husbandry protocols described in
these articles. I also hope that this
paper will prompt aviculturists to
give more attention to these magnificent
birds before their importation is
completely eliminated. I am convinced
that efforts to preserve species
diversity will be futile if as many
genera as possible are not established
in captivity within a short time.
Except, perhaps, for the cockatoos,
birds from southeastern Asia and
New Guinea are more exposed than
any other group to danger of extinction
from habitat destruction and
human disturbance than from trapping
for the pet trade. Placing a
species on the C.I.T.E.S. appendix I
(endangered species list) hardly
protects it from the damage deriving
from destruction of its natural
habitat.
1. Frith C.B., Bowerbirds and Birds of Paradise.
In the Encyclopedia of Birds (Perrins C., and
Middleton L.A., eds.) Facts on File, Inc.,
New York, 1985, pp.436·441.
2. Beehler B.M., Pratt T.K., and
Zimmerman D.A., Birds of New Guinea.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ,
1986, pp.219-223.
3. Chaffer M., In Quest of Bowerbirds. Rigby
Publ., Sydney, 1984, pp.45.
4. Simpson K., and Day N., Field Guide to the
Birds of Australia. Penguin Books of Australia,
Ltd., Ringwood, Victoria, 1986,
pp.337.
5. Sindel S., Breeding the Regent Bowerbird
Se1·icutus chrisocephalus. Australian A viculture
(1989), 43(6): 149-154.
6. Sindel S., Breeding the Green Catbird Ailuroedus
c1·assirostris. Australian Aviculture
(1991), 45(6): 139-145.
7. Schuchmann K.L., Kolibris. Haltung unt
PJlege. Biotropik Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt
um Mein, 1979, pp.65-(i8.
8. Communicable Disease Center. 1967.
Pictorial Keys to Arthropods, Reptiles,
Birds, and Mammals of Public Health Significance.
Communicable Disease Center,
Allanta, GA.