Monday, June 28, 2010

Decoration for Seduction !!



This is a story of the complex behavioral aspects and unique mating techniques-The story of the art of seduction….

He builds a bower, a hut-like conical structure made of sticks, tied together with grass and stuff…an art in itself,which he takes great care and many days to perfect-The front entrance of the bower is propped up by two columns-like sticks...

He takes great care to clear the “ front lawn “ area and decorate it with mosses and dead leaves..

Then comes the final adornment-the entrance to the bower is decorated with dead beetles,flowers,berries,colorful leaves,apricot fungus – laid out very artistically, with the touches of a skillful interior decorator-so much to attract and lure a mate for the season….

And he takes extra care to rearrange stuff,discard old or unwanted items,like fungus off the deer dung that he has so delicately arranged…or properly aligning the charcoal in a symmetric heap !!


And he is not alone….he has neighbours and rivals – and rivalry even leads to theft, with neighbours stealing “ novelty “ items off each other’s property !! So much to outdo each other and attract a prospective female ~


Females visit the bower, often there is a single female visiting many bowers at a time, and after repeated inspection and close scrutiny, depending on whose bower and/or decoration she likes the best, she choses her mate ….The winner is declared and all the hard work is appreciated-The bower itself plays no role in nesting or housing the youngs, but only as an instrument in courtship ~ ~


And to add to this effect,these birds are adept in singing and mimicry as well !!


This is the story of a Bowerbird….to be more precise - the Vogelkop Bowerbird, found in Indonesia –a master seducer,when it comes to the art of presentation and décor….Human males who are in the process of wooing, please take notes ….don’t forget to get the flowers and the candles,before inviting her in your house !!