NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Bowerbird

The 19 bowerbirds and catbirds make up the family Ptilonorhynchidae. All are small to medium in size and their distribution is centered around the tropical northern part of Australia-New Guinea. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria Acoelomorpha Orthonectida Rhombozoa Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascideiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... For other meanings of bird, see bird (disambiguation). ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... Australia-New Guinea, also called Sahul or Meganesia, is made up of the continent of Australia and the islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. ...

Their most notable characteristic is the extraordinarily complex behaviour of males, which build a bower to attract mates: a collection of look-alike objects that are carefully collected, sorted, and arranged by colour into spectacular structures, often including some hundreds of shells, leaves, flowers, stones or berries. This has led some researchers to regard the bowerbirds as the most advanced of any species of bird.

Though bowerbirds have traditionally been regarded as closely related to the birds of paradise, recent DNA-DNA hybridisation studies suggest that while both families are part of the great corvid radiation that took place in or near Australia-New Guinea, the bowerbirds are more distant from the birds of paradise than was once thought. Sibley's landmark DNA studies placed them close to the lyrebirds; however, anatomical evidence appears to contradict this and the true relationship remains unclear. For the flowering plant of this name, see Strelitzia Genera Cicinnurus Diphyllodes Epimachus Lophorina Manucodia Paradisaea Parotia Ptiloris Seleucidis Lesser Bird of Paradise Paradisaea minor (c)Roderick Eime The birds of paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes, found in Oceania. ... DNA-DNA hybridization is a method in genetics to measure the degree of genetic similarity between DNA sequences. ... Australia-New Guinea, also called Sahul or Meganesia, is made up of the continent of Australia and the islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. ... Charles Sibley (August 7, 1917 - April 12, 1998) was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. ... Genera Menura A Lyrebird is either of two large ground-dwelling Australian birds, most notable for their extraordinary ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment. ...

Species of Ptilonorhynchidae

White-eared Catbird, Ailuroedus buccoides
Spotted Catbird, Ailuroedus melanotis
Green Catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris
Tooth-billed Catbird, Ailuroedus dentirostris
Archbold's Bowerbird, Archboldia papuensis
Sanford's Bowerbird, Archboldia sanfordi
Vogelkop Bowerbird, Amblyornis inornatus
Macgregor's Bowerbird, Amblyornis macgregoriae
Streaked Bowerbird, Amblyornis subalaris
Golden-fronted Bowerbird, Amblyornis flavifrons
Golden Bowerbird, Prionodura newtoniana
Flame Bowerbird, Sericulus aureus
Fire-maned Bowerbird, Sericulus bakeri
Regent Bowerbird, Sericulus chrysocephalus
Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Western Bowerbird, Chlamydera guttata
Spotted Bowerbird, Chlamydera maculata
Great Bowerbird, Chlamydera nuchalis
Yellow-breasted Bowerbird, Chlamydera lauterbachi
Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, Chlamydera cerviniventris
Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Scenopooetes dentirostris

Binomial name Ptilonorhynchus violaceus (Vieillot, 1816) The Satin Bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus, is a typical bowerbird, found in eastern Australia. ... Binomial name Chlamydera nuchalis (Jardine & Selby, 1830) The Great Bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) 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 Mt Isa. ...

External link

PBS Nature: Bower Bird Blues
PBS Nova: Flying Casanovas

Categories: Ptilonorhynchidae

Results from FactBites:

Bowerbird - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (500 words)
	The most notable characteristic of bowerbirds is the extraordinarily complex behaviour of males, which is to build a bower to attract mates.
	In a striking example of what is known as the "transfer effect," bowerbird species that build the most elaborate bowers are dull in color and show little variation between male and female, whereas bowerbird species with minor bowers have males with bright plumage.
	Though bowerbirds have traditionally been regarded as closely related to the birds of paradise, recent DNA-DNA hybridisation studies suggest that while both families are part of the great corvid radiation that took place in or near Australia-New Guinea, the bowerbirds are more distant from the birds of paradise than was once thought.

the Bowerbird - Australia - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (329 words)
	Bowerbird, common name for birds of the bowerbird family of New Guinea and Australia, considered by most ornithologists to be closely related to the birds of paradise of the same geographic region.
	The Vogelkop bowerbird (also known as the gardener bowerbird), a 25-cm (10-in) bird, builds a tepee like structure as much as 1.6 m (63 in) across, with a low entranceway in front of which is a "garden" of bright objects and flowers that are regularly replaced as soon as they fade.
	The male satin bowerbird, common in parts of Australia, is a silky, blue-fl bird, about 20 cm (about 7.8 in) long, with bright blue eyes; the male of this species builds a stick mat, down the middle of which he places two walls of vertical sticks that may reach 38 cm (16 in) high.

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