Scenopoeetes dentirostris
The Tooth-billed Bowerbird, Scenopoeetes dentirostris, is a truly remarkable avian architect, best known for its unique 'display court' rather than an elaborate bower. This medium-sized passerine, measuring around 24-27 cm (9.4-10.6 inches) in length and weighing 130-180 grams (4.6-6.3 oz), is uniformly dull olive-brown to dark brown on its upperparts, with a paler, often buff-washed underbelly, providing excellent camouflage within its rainforest habitat. Its most distinctive field mark, giv...
Found exclusively in subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane rainforests of Australia. Typically inhabits the mid-to-upper canopy and forest floor at elevations between 300 and 1500 meters.
Primarily frugivorous, consuming a wide variety of rainforest fruits. They also supplement their diet with leaves and occasionally small insects, foraging by gleaning from branches and foliage.
Tooth-billed Bowerbirds are primarily diurnal, spending their days foraging and, for males, maintaining their elaborate display courts. Males are polygynous, and their courtship ritual is central to their behavior: instead of building a structured bower, they meticulously clear a 'court' on the f...
The Tooth-billed Bowerbird is strictly endemic to a relatively small area of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area in north-eastern Queensland, Australia. Its breeding range is confined to this biodiverse region, specifically from the Paluma Range in the south, north through the Atherton Tableland,...
Least Concern
- The Tooth-billed Bowerbird is the only bird in the world known to possess serrated, 'tooth-like' edges on its bill, used for cutting leaves and fruit. - Unlike other bowerbirds that construct elaborate stick structures, this species creates a simple, yet meticulously cleared 'court' on the fore...