It’s no secret the males of the avian world—with their flashy plumage and dazzling dances—tend to get all the attention. But this Mother’s Day spare a thought for the unsung females, like our local favourites, satin bowerbirds and superb lyrebirds, who have mastered the art of single parenting.
The bowerbird seduction starts with the male’s song and dance routine, staged amidst his bedazzled bachelor (bower) pad. All things blue are added to impress the fussy females; the older, more experienced ladies being the hardest to please. With iridescent blue plumage and violet- coloured eyes, the males stand in stark contrast to the sensible green and brown females who disappear against the bush like respectable Wallflowers.
When the romance is over, Dad zips off and Mum gets to work making her nest high in a tree to avoid predators. She not only lays and incubates the eggs but camouflages them with gum leaves while out looking for food. A protein rich diet of insects results in fast growing chicks who can fly by 3 weeks but remain with her for another 2 months. Meanwhile, the distracted male fusses over his bower, hoping to attract another female in a sort of perpetual midlife crisis.
But if male bowerbirds are the tortured artists of the bird world, lyrebirds are surely its rockstars. David Attenborough once called their vocal repertoire the “most complex and most beautiful song in the world”, and those with the greatest accuracy and wide-ranging mimicry are richly rewarded. In recent years, researchers have discovered that female lyrebirds possess the same vocal range, primarily used to defend against other females and
predators by impersonating threats like hawks.
Once Dad flies the coop, Mum forms a feather-lined nest at ground level. It’s an easier target for goannas and foxes, but the nesting site is vigorously defended and the scent trail reduced by her meticulous removal of all droppings. She lays only one egg, and the demanding fledgeling remains in her care for up to a year.
So in the spirit of maternal joy and sacrifice, Happy Mother’s Day to all our new mums, single-mums, hard-working mums, and of course, the empty-nesters!
Winter 2024 update: If you want to hear some incredible bird calls, the forests around us are alive with the mating calls of the male lyrebirds. You can play “name that bird” as you listen to their incredible repertoire, mimicking the calls of the local birdlife. Walk carefully through the bush and catch a glimpse of the males famous tail folded forward in their mesmerising dance.
