The flame bowerbird’s dramatic dance

Having constructed a delicate ‘nest’ of sticks that bend toward each other, an almost gate-like portal for any potential mate, the male flame bowerbird prepares for an intricate dance that rivals a flamenco dancer’s moves.

This BBC Earth Kids video documents The Bowerbird’s Dramatic Dance, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The clip is from the 2014 BBC series Life Story.

The arrangement of sticks is called an avenue bower, one of three types of showcase structures favored by most of the 20 different bowerbird species.

While many bowerbirds decorate around these with colorful and shiny found objects—flowers, leaves, feathers, bottle caps, and often an extensive collection of blue plastic refuse—this flame bowerbird keeps his tiny shrine minimal with snail shells, leaves, and a few blue and purple berries.

Endemic to Papua New Guinea, the flame bowerbird is a spectacular saturated red-orange and yellow sight in the dark green and brown rainforest.

And its sounds—hissing, chirping, churring, clicking, warbles, purring, and other deep rasps—emphasize its expressive presence. From Oiseaux-Birds.com:

“When a female approaches to visit the bower, the male may collect some sticks with the bill and begins its dance. It tries to appear as small as possible, before puffing up the plumage to look bigger. The effect is reinforced when the male extends its wings.

“It is time for the female to inspect the bower. The male intensifies the dance and continues to extend its wings. But it is also able to ‘play’ with its eyes, with the deep yellow irises and the black pupils alternating to change the eye’s colour.”

“The irises can be entirely yellow with only a very small black pupil, and in addition, not necessarily both eyes but only one, making the gaze hypnotic.

“When both mates are at the bower, they touch their bills. During the displays, the male produces some rasping and hissing notes. Some items such as insect or berries can be seen in the bill.”

Watch more elaborate mating dances on TKSST, including:
• The mating dance of the male Victoria’s Riflebird
• The Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise, a new species
• Male Blue Manakins wait in line to impress a female
• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s Birds of Paradise project
• The Greater Sage-Grouse’s courtship ritual & The Sagebrush Sea