Male Bowerbirds in Australian Cities Are Turning Human Trash Into Treasure to Impress Potential Mates

A city-dwelling male bowerbird near the structure that it built to woo mates, called a bower. Caitlin Evans To woo potential mates, male bowerbirds can spend months building and decorating elaborate structures on the ground called bowers. Rural birds tend to adorn their engineered masterpieces with items like leaves, fruits, flowers and snail shells.

Urban birds, on the other hand, seem to have a penchant for trash.

In a study published in the journal Royal Society Open Science on June 3, researchers looked at how urbanization has changed the way Australia’s great bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis) display their affection. They found that city birds tend to deck out their bowers with larger, more colorful decorations—usually items left behind by humans. When given the chance, however, both urban and rural birds prefer human-made objects over natural ones.