It wasn’t the wind that took Grandma’s earrings. It was a bird—a sneaky, blue-loving, feathered Casanova with a flair for interior design. Somewhere deep in the forests of eastern Australia, a male bowerbird strutted proudly past his bower: a ground-level structure lined with walls of twigs and a path sprinkled with stolen treasures. Among the usual bottle caps and plastic straws, a glint of metal caught the sun. A diamond earring. Grandma’s diamond earring. He didn’t need it for survival—he wanted it for seduction.
The Architects of Attraction
Bowerbirds don’t sing sweet songs or rely on fancy feathers alone. These birds build. But not just any nest. Male satin bowerbirds, for instance, craft elaborate “bowers” to impress females—structures made not for living, but for showing off.
Each bower resembles a hallway with twig walls, carefully decorated with brightly coloured items. Satin bowerbirds obsess over blue. Bits of string, pen lids, pegs, and feathers are carefully arranged to create the perfect scene. The more vibrant and symmetrical the display, the better their chances of scoring a mate.
What makes them truly remarkable is how they collect these objects. They patrol campsites, sneak through gardens, and even sneak into homes through open windows. If it shines or glitters, it’s fair game. Reports include coins, jewellery, plastic rings, and glass beads. Scientists have documented birds stealing from each other too, with bowerbirds locked in a cycle of theft, sabotage, and strategic redecorating during the breeding season.
The Natural History Museum in London describes this as a “competitive decorating war” where males upgrade their love nests with items like bottle caps, broken glass, and blue straws. Some even experiment with optical illusions—placing larger objects further from the bower entrance to make the display seem more impressive.
The Seduction Ritual
It’s not just about shiny objects. Once the bower is decorated to his satisfaction, the male performs a frantic dance around it. He flutters, buzzes, and hops, flashing his violet-blue eyes at a visiting female. He might imitate other birds or even mimic mechanical sounds.
The female watches from inside the bower like a VIP guest. She inspects the structure, evaluates the symmetry, and decides if his performance deserves her attention. If not, she flies away, and the male starts again—rebuilding, rearranging, and sometimes stealing from rivals.
The Nature Conservancy field report notes that some bowerbirds remember past mates and even attract the same female across multiple years. Their displays get more elaborate with age, showing that learning and memory play a role in their romantic tactics.
Myth-Busting the Magpie
While the bowerbird’s obsession with objects is well-documented, another bird has long been accused of similar behaviour—the magpie. Many believe magpies steal jewellery and hoard it in their nests. But science tells a different story.
In 2014, researchers at the University of Exeter conducted a study on magpies. They placed shiny objects near food to see if the birds showed any interest. Surprisingly, the magpies ignored the items or reacted with suspicion. They were cautious, even fearful. The idea that magpies collect sparkly things turned out to be folklore, not fact.
Out of dozens of trials, the magpies picked up shiny items only twice, and quickly dropped them both times. Unlike the bowerbird, they showed no instinct to decorate or collect.
When Wildlife Meets Whimsy
What makes the bowerbird so extraordinary isn’t just its collecting behaviour—it’s how human-like it feels. The male curates his space, selects items based on colour and style, and even uses visual tricks to enhance his “home’s” appeal.
The objects they choose often come from human civilisation. A pink bra strap, a plastic dinosaur, an expired credit card—each becomes a piece of a bizarre, sparkling mosaic of avian art. In one documented case, a bird decorated its bower with a syringe and duct tape.
