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  Profile

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  In flight

Bowerbirds

Tooth-billed Bowerbird

Scenopoeetes dentirostris

• rare
• 46 km/h
• Near Threatened

No bower, just a cleared forest stage carpeted with freshly cut leaves placed upside-down.

Population

~19,000–460,000 mature individuals, decreasing (2000–2016 monitoring showed sharp decline, partly attributed to cyclone damage)

Habitat

Upland tropical rainforest, highest densities at 800–1200 m elevation (recorded as low as ~423 m); also uses acacia regrowth; nests in high vine tangles

Fun fact

Unlike other bowerbirds, the male Tooth-billed Bowerbird builds no elaborate structure — instead he clears a circular "stage" on the forest floor (the genus name Scenopoeetes literally means "stage-maker") and decorates it with large fresh leaves flipped pale-side-up, replacing wilted ones daily, then sings/mimics from a display perch above it to attract females.

Range

Endemic to the Wet Tropics of northeast Queensland, Australia, from Mount Amos in the north to Mount Elliott near Townsville in the south (extent of occurrence ~31,300 km²)

Diet

Mainly fruit and young leaves of forest trees

Size

0.27 m