Yellow-breasted Bowerbird
Chlamydera lauterbachi
A rather drab bowerbird of forest edge and cultivation from the lowlands to the mid-mountains. Olive-brown back and wings with pale-edged feathers giving a scaled effect. Yellow belly, streaky throat and face. Makes a unique 4-walled bower. Similar to Fawn-breasted Bowbird, but Yellow-breasted Bowerbird has a yellow rather than buffy belly and an unstreaked crown. Call, a loud, downward “kyew!”.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Chlamydera lauterbachi
- Authority
- Reichenow, 1897
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ptilonorhynchidae
- Genus
- Chlamydera
Range and habitat
The yellow-breasted bowerbird is distributed on mainland New Guinea, where it inhabits grasslands, lowlands, and subtropical mountain forests. Its diet mainly consists of fruits, caterpillars, beetles, and other insects. The nest is a shallow cup made of small sticks located in a tree. The bower itself is of the "avenue" type, with four walls made of sticks and an outward-angled main avenue wall.<p>The scientific name commemorates its discoverer, the German botanist Carl Lauterbach. He discovered this bowerbird in 1896.<p>Widespread and a common species throughout its habitat range, the yellow-breasted bowerbird is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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