The males are glossy black - building North-South avenues decorated with colourful trinkets, to attract the females. Bowers can be used for many years, and I have found them quite close to my farm house in the past - the avenue sewn together with sheep and alpaca wool, and decorated with all manner of shiny items - small pieces of metal, the bodies of insects, together with flowers, shells and interesting shaped objects.
The female is attracted to the bowers by the male dance, but it is the aesthetics of the bower structure that determine whether she will join the dance and mate.
After mating she builds a nest and looks after the young alone, while the male remains at the bower, continuing in his efforts to attract females to the avenue.
Peter Quinton
Palerang
March 2015
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