Overview
- A peer-reviewed study published June 2, 2026, in Royal Society Open Science examined 61 male great bowerbirds at an urban site in Townsville and a rural site at Dreghorn during the 2023 breeding season.
- Researchers found urban bowers held far more decorations than rural ones, roughly 90 items on average in the city compared with about 20 in the countryside, and urban displays showed more vivid reds and duller greens when viewed through bowerbird visual sensitivity.
- In a controlled swap experiment that mixed items from urban and rural bowers, both urban and rural males overwhelmingly selected human-made glass and plastic over natural materials.
- Field observations recorded unusual human-sourced decorations at urban bowers, including handcuffs, medicine jars near a hospital, fluorescent mouth guards near a sports ground, wire, banknotes, and other common litter.
- The authors warn that the behavioural shift is driven by availability but note the study did not measure female choice or reproductive success, leaving effects on fitness, injury risk from debris, and longer-term population consequences unresolved and in need of follow-up research.