I’ve been spending time in the beautiful Hunter Valley recently, and have seen more Satin Bowerbirds in one spot than in total ever before now. Such a treat!

The first few birds that I saw were all female. They’re slightly smaller than a Magpie, and are gorgeous, with their purple eyes and the brown-green tones of their plumage.

It was surprising to see these birds foraging in a dumpster for scraps to eat. Somehow, I would have thought dumpster diving was beneath such gorgeous creatures!

In the video, you can also hear Australian Magpies carolling. Here’s one that joined the Bowerbirds on the edge of the dumpster:

The male Satin Bowerbird was much more shy than the females. I did manage to get a shot of him, high up in a tree:

Males are entirely blue-black, and also have those unusual purple eyes. When the light catches their feathers in the right way, the black has a distinctive blue sheen.

I examined the ground in the area where the male was hanging out, and managed to find his bower. I was careful not to go to close. He had arranged some dead grass into an architectural gateway, and scatted plenty of blue plastic pieces around. A fitting lure for a female beauty:

This is the first time I’ve seen a Bowerbird’s bower, and the first time I’ve seen a male Satin Bowerbird in the wild. It was a lovely experience.

Common name: Satin Bowerbird
Scientific name: Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Approximate length: 28-34 cm
Date spotted: 4-5 July 2025 (winter)
Location: Cypress Lakes resort, Pokolbin, NSW, Australia

I spent this weekend in the Blue Mountains, a beautiful area to the west of Sydney. On an early morning walk this morning, I heard some interested chattering and calling from a group of birds. I went to investigate, and found this lovely creature:

That purple eye isn’t a trick of the light. This bird really does have purple eyes. It’s a female Satin Bowerbird. My first sighting!

Bowerbirds are so called because of their unique behaviour around breeding time. The male bird (which I didn’t see) builds a large construction on the ground, made up of various bits of vegetation. The shape and size of the construction depends on the type of bowerbird. Satin Bowerbirds use upright-standing dry grass or twigs to form an intriguing tunnel. It’s almost heart-shaped. Then they gather decorations to entice the female to their bower. Satin Bowerbirds love blue. They’ll use blue petals, berries, bits of plastic, even entire spoons and other utensils — provided they’re blue!

Here’s another of the birds that I saw this morning, looking alert as I hove into view, and showing off her spangled front feathers, with a light green blush on the chest:

The next picture shows the back of the bird:

Common name: Satin Bowerbird
Scientific name: Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
Approximate length: 28-34 cm
Date spotted: 22 November 2021 (spring)
Location: Mount Victoria, NSW, Australia: 33°35’11.4″S 150°15’15.8″E