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Australia.

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This is the home of something, for me

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is one of the most special bird families.

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They are extraordinary because they are artists,

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sculptors and painters.

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And the males use their creations
and the treasures they gather,

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to impress females

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in a way that is comparable
with no other animal species on earth.

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Except for us, of course.

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These are the treasures.

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Each one specially selected and
all arranged with the greatest care.

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And behind it an extraordinary one
double-walled construction.

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This is not a nest,

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it's an art gallery or
perhaps a treasure trove.

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And these are the jewels with which
it was built to show off.

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Bones.

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Snail shells.

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Pebbles.

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They have one thing in common.
They are all white.

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Because the artist who built this
has a passion for white.

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And if I pull back and a little
have patience, he may appear very well.

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This is it, the western bowerbird.

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And this is his bower.
It controls his life.

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If it's impressive enough,
then female after female,

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after inspection, mate with him.

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Each will then leave and her family
to raise all alone,

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while he stays here and does what he can

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for the appearance of his
to improve the arbor.

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Rearrange and add to the treasures
that are already there,

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and hope for another mating.

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This is a female passing through the neighborhood
tours and sees what's around.

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How does this gazebo compare
to others she has seen?

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He watches her closely
to see what her reactions are.

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Maybe he can do a little
add spice with a dance.

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All other male birds,
when they show off,

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only wear their bodies
to show off to females.

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A lyrebird uses its tail feathers.

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A bird of paradise shows off
with special plumes.

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Colored bald spots are effective and
inflating a throat bag works well.

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This also applies to wattles, especially if they are like this
be beautiful as with the tragopan rooster.

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The male cock-forward
wears a hat.

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The King of Saxony bird of paradise
bounces up and down

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to show off his
great head plumes.

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Some male pheasants are budding

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iridescent feathers from
breathtaking beauty.

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These are all body decorations
to impress females.

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We find some ourselves
these plumes are so beautiful

48
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that we hunt the birds they have
and use their own feathers

49
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for exactly the same purpose.

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Men in New Guinea living next to
birds of paradise live,

51
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don't just use their feathers
to impress women,

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but bounce the same way
up and down to show it off.

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Indeed, all kinds of men
in all parts of the world,

54
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have always tried to
to match the peacock.

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In 16th century England there were only
few finer or more vain than Henry VIII.

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The prisoner's first name
Thomas Cromwell...

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Do you think I look like a groom?

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Beautiful.

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I want that girl more than anything
in all my life,

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And needless to say, he
got her, over and over again.

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But most birds, in
unlike kings,

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need to grow their decorations.

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Instead of showing off, imagine that
your body and the feathers you were given,

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you could impress females with
the beauty of inanimate objects

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that you collect, and the manner
where you display them.

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You wouldn't be taxed
with all those feather decorations

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that you have to carry with you all the time.

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And what's more, the female,
when she comes to inspect your treasury,

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would be impressed
whether you were there or not.

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And that's exactly what this bird does.

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The bower bird.

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The objects he uses to show off,
leaves, could hardly be more unremarkable,

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and his way of showing them,

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in what is perhaps the first kind of gazebo
was that was developed by the family,

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is extremely simple.

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It is no coincidence that all these leaves
lie with the pale side up.

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The bird clearly cares
prefer that way,

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and I can easily prove that by
turning one of them the other way.

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That's better!

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And while he's at it, there are too
some pieces of branch and leaves

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that there is some dirt around
left the place.

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That also needs to be corrected.

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But however thoughtful and conscientious he is,

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he needs to eat sometimes,

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and that means he has his treasures
left unattended.

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And once he's gone,
another male appears.

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But this one behaves quite differently.

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He seems nervous and worried.

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He's a neighbor.

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These leaves come from a tree

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which is almost one and a half
kilometers away.

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Why fly so far for more
if they are close by?

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To prevent that kind of theft,

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each male brings as much as possible
spend time beside his court,

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and if he doesn't work on it,

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he tries to continue singing
to attract the attention of females.

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He listens to his neighbors and
tries to outdo them

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by the songs of other species
to imitate nearby.

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A female has arrived.

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Immediately the man comes
to his stately home...

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and hides.

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He only gives her a little glimpse,

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as if to make her curious

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about where this strange clicking song
comes from him.

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She seems interested.

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This is the time for her
to arouse curiosity,

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to move up a gear,

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with a bit of chic
footwork and a gurgle.

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It's a somewhat alarming way
to demonstrate his charms,

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but it must, presumably, be the thing
are what turns a female on.

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No, not good enough!
Or at least, not yet.

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North of Australia, about a
narrow arm of the sea, and almost on the equator,

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lies the enormous, 1500 km
long island of New Guinea.

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Its thick, rain-soaked forests

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were once uninterrupted with
those in tropical Australia.

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So it's not surprising
that the bowerbird family

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also has representatives here.

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It's not easy
country to travel in.

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It rains almost every day, so
everything in the forest is permanently wet.

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And there are large areas
no roads, only thin tracks,

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so the only way to
moving is on your own two feet.

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But it's a journey worth taking,

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for here there are species that some of
build the most extraordinary arbors,

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one that not only the technique of a
tooth beak used to decorate the ground,

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but also drapes the branches above.

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In this forest where every tree is full of moss,

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could you walk straight past this gazebo,

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unless you noticed

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that there is blue on this branch
berries were balanced.

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And then, behind you,

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dried orchid stems
this sapling hung

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like angel hair on a Christmas tree.

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And they go up 3, 4 meters, and
extend 20 feet beyond me.

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And then, while you heart
enters from this bower,

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really conclusive proof of what it is.

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Lots of beetle elytra here

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and the most extraordinary and
decisive of all

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three of the amazing head plumes
of the King of Saxony bird of paradise.

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They could never have naturally fallen like that.

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They must have been placed there on purpose

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by the owner of this
gigantic, somewhat untidy gazebo.

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And this is the owner,
the Archbold bowerbird

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until recently the least known
member of the whole family.

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That yellow, curly quiff
see that this is a male.

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A beetle elytra lies
clearly out of place.

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This is the female.
She doesn't have that yellow crest.

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Her arrival is the signal
for him to show off.

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He seems to be playing hide and seek,
just like the male teeth beak.

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It's a way around her
to draw attention

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on the miracles he performed
laid the ground.

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When the female lands
to inspect them,

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he chases her, in a ritual way,

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back and forth across the floor of the gazebo.

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But whether he is successful or not, who knows?

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No ornithologist has ever observed the mating
of Archbold bowerbirds seen.

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It takes a trained eye
to immediately recognize that gazebo,

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but there is another kind in this
forests that are impossible to miss.

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It's easy to imagine

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how bewildered the early European
travelers must have been

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when they found something like this in the depths
of the forest.

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It is located at the base
from the trunk of a tree fern.

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These are not tree fern roots. They are
separate twigs, each placed separately.

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Being at the end of many of them
pendants made from caterpillar droppings.

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This is a ring around the corridor

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made from impacted moss.

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And on top of it there are small black objects.

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They are actually a fungus,
but a rare fungus.

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It is very difficult to find it
if you search here in the forest.

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Here is the owner,
the MacGregor bowerbird.

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It is clear that mold is in every good
furnished, well-maintained gazebo,

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should never be found on the
runway around the base of the maypole.

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Keeping the gazebo smart requires
such constant attention

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that the male has little time
has for other things.

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So when he goes foraging, he brings
as much food as he can carry back

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and stores it nearby.

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That way he doesn't have to use the gazebo
to leave when he wants a snack.

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His reproductive success will depend on
the fact whether, in the eyes of the females, he

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the most impressive
decorated gazebo has that there is.

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There can never be too many caterpillar droppings
hang on the maypole.

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But suspending them is not easy.

181
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What now?

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Another twig. That would be at the top
can leave the maypole.

183
00:16:21,269 --> 00:16:27,298
We know that the females all
visit local pubs,

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they judge them and presumably
they make a choice.

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00:16:31,788 --> 00:16:37,700
And there must be 15 or 20 of them
within a mile of where I sit now.

186
00:16:38,750 --> 00:16:41,500
And on what basis do they choose?

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They don't judge the bird
is going to be a good father

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in the sense of helping with the nest

189
00:16:48,548 --> 00:16:52,580
because this male
bowerbirds are not part

190
00:16:52,668 --> 00:16:56,139
nor in building the nest,
nor when feeding the young.

191
00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,509
So the females are probably the judge
the way the gazebo is built,

192
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how it is decorated

193
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,740
and how he dances in it.

194
00:17:06,828 --> 00:17:12,220
And that means that the females have a
must have some kind of aesthetic feeling,

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artistic feeling.

196
00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,430
The interesting thing is that in recent years

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00:17:18,509 --> 00:17:25,009
European sculptors also thought so
there is great aesthetic power

198
00:17:25,750 --> 00:17:28,259
in constructions like this.

199
00:17:29,108 --> 00:17:32,460
Andy Goldsworthy is one of the
most appreciated artists

200
00:17:32,548 --> 00:17:36,538
who creates what has become known,
as agricultural or environmental art.

201
00:17:38,068 --> 00:17:44,098
My art is unmistakably recognizable
as a person's test.

202
00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:50,710
I'm not a bird, and I don't mimic the
imitate things that I see birds and beasts making,

203
00:17:52,028 --> 00:17:55,980
However, there are parallels to be drawn.

204
00:17:57,348 --> 00:18:00,890
It seems undeniable that both
bowerbirds as performers

205
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something attractive, rewarding,
find satisfactory,

206
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in constructions made of
natural materials

207
00:18:07,269 --> 00:18:11,818
who, in the words of Andy Goldsworthy,
bear "the touch of a person".

208
00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,460
Just like any human person
has his or her individuality,

209
00:18:15,548 --> 00:18:18,180
that's how it is with every one
male bowerbird.

210
00:18:18,269 --> 00:18:22,740
The sculptures respond
on place, light, atmosphere,

211
00:18:22,828 --> 00:18:26,608
the day, the time, but it
starts with the material.

212
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:31,230
That's the beginning, if many
are branches that have curves,

213
00:18:31,308 --> 00:18:34,298
then that takes me in a certain direction.

214
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:36,925
It allows me to
to process the material

215
00:18:36,950 --> 00:18:39,432
in a way that I don't
can be done with a straight branch.

216
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:49,868
So if this is a work of art, like it
certain is, in the opinion of many critics,

217
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:52,420
why isn't this that?

218
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:05,150
This artist, if he
is, goes for multimedia.

219
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He supports his sculpture with a song.

220
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There's the female.

221
00:19:18,269 --> 00:19:22,500
He uses the standard family technique
to arouse her curiosity

222
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by hiding.

223
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,630
She flies to one side

224
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:38,950
and he dives to the other, around behind
to keep his pole out of sight.

225
00:19:44,548 --> 00:19:46,778
But she will look elsewhere.

226
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:50,710
He didn't do his full display.

227
00:19:50,788 --> 00:19:53,019
That is a very rare sight indeed,

228
00:19:53,108 --> 00:19:57,500
because he only does it like a female
straight onto the runway.

229
00:19:57,588 --> 00:20:00,380
And females are extremely picky.

230
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But this one did.

231
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The final revelation, the full view

232
00:20:10,821 --> 00:20:13,414
from the top of his head until now
kept hidden.

233
00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,150
Even though he still has her there
will only give a glimpse of it.

234
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,109
Less than one in ten males
bowerbirds in the area

235
00:20:34,188 --> 00:20:37,559
manages to get a female
convince to reach this stage

236
00:20:37,648 --> 00:20:40,338
and then copulate with them
in the nearby forest.

237
00:20:40,440 --> 00:20:44,509
But those few winning males
will mate with many females.

238
00:20:44,588 --> 00:20:47,858
All arbor builders try
to be polygamists.

239
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:57,390
Building five of the 18 species of bowerbirds
their arbors according to the maypole plan

240
00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,670
and every species does so
its own specific way.

241
00:21:00,750 --> 00:21:04,660
In Australian
rainforest is still alive.

242
00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:13,028
This is a somewhat more complex gazebo.

243
00:21:13,108 --> 00:21:15,740
It resembles the maypole in many ways

244
00:21:15,828 --> 00:21:19,220
but instead of one
maypole, it has two.

245
00:21:19,308 --> 00:21:21,578
Here is one at this sapling

246
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,788
and here, not so big, is another.

247
00:21:26,548 --> 00:21:30,170
Every branch has been brought in

248
00:21:30,269 --> 00:21:32,019
and on this kind of bower

249
00:21:32,108 --> 00:21:37,298
you almost always notice that they are connected to each other
are glued with some kind of mold.

250
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:42,710
And between the two maypoles
there is a horizontal branch

251
00:21:42,788 --> 00:21:46,858
and be there by the bird
the jewelry placed.

252
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:52,028
There are many of these
translucent seed pods.

253
00:21:53,588 --> 00:21:58,298
But mostly it's this yellow lichen.

254
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,308
And if I put this on there,

255
00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:05,509
I don't think he'll like it.

256
00:22:05,588 --> 00:22:09,900
That could get him in,
and I will wait there

257
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,190
to see if we get lucky.

258
00:22:23,788 --> 00:22:26,578
The forest is full of sound.

259
00:22:30,308 --> 00:22:32,420
That's him.

260
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:35,828
That is his rebuking cry.

261
00:22:37,588 --> 00:22:42,180
You must remain as quiet as possible
if you're in plain sight like this.

262
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:52,910
The problem with this forest
is that it is full of mosquitoes.

263
00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,670
I don't dare to do too much
to wave my hands.

264
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:06,710
That's the whip bird. It's very typical
sound in this Queensland rainforest.

265
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:18,180
That's the whipping bird again.

266
00:23:18,269 --> 00:23:20,618
He comes to the gazebo.

267
00:23:26,788 --> 00:23:28,660
There's the bowerbird.

268
00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,028
That's one of his approach posts.

269
00:23:37,269 --> 00:23:39,298
Here he comes.

270
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:49,788
No, he definitely doesn't like where I am
put down that piece of lichen.

271
00:24:01,108 --> 00:24:04,890
Back again. This time he has
brought a jasmine flower,

272
00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,509
one of his favorite decorations.

273
00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:18,269
There must be a female nearby.
He plays peek-a-boo like the MacGregors,

274
00:24:18,348 --> 00:24:23,140
only this time he doesn't use a young one
small tree but a very large tree trunk.

275
00:24:28,269 --> 00:24:30,380
That's her.

276
00:24:42,028 --> 00:24:44,588
She has come to the gazebo.

277
00:24:52,588 --> 00:24:55,220
There he is again.

278
00:24:58,509 --> 00:24:59,900
Here he comes.

279
00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:09,700
But he's behaving very strangely.
What is he doing?

280
00:25:13,269 --> 00:25:17,338
He does not rearrange his ornaments,
he throws them away.

281
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:22,950
This must be a stranger, a neighbor,
a rival who wants to damage this bower

282
00:25:23,028 --> 00:25:26,420
to have his nearby
to make it look better.

283
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:40,670
Just like some construction sites in one
city are more valuable than others,

284
00:25:40,750 --> 00:25:44,500
so it is with the bower places in a forest.

285
00:25:44,588 --> 00:25:47,460
The longer an arbor has been established

286
00:25:47,548 --> 00:25:50,298
the more valuable the place becomes.

287
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,348
There are two reasons for this.

288
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,868
First of all, all females know
near where it is

289
00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,519
and where to go
to find a partner.

290
00:25:59,588 --> 00:26:04,259
Secondly, the owner of the gazebo will
deposited his feces

291
00:26:04,348 --> 00:26:06,180
nearby.

292
00:26:06,269 --> 00:26:10,380
They necessarily contain the seeds
of the fruits on which it feeds.

293
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:14,150
So if the place has been occupied for a long time,

294
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:18,108
there will be an unusual one
concentration of food plants.

295
00:26:19,108 --> 00:26:24,700
This particular place already is
occupied for at least 22 years.

296
00:26:24,788 --> 00:26:27,058
Two years ago, disaster struck.

297
00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:31,230
A tree fell and destroyed the gazebo.

298
00:26:31,308 --> 00:26:35,778
But did the little guy leave his property?
No, he didn't.

299
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,470
It was way too valuable.
He just moved a few feet

300
00:26:40,548 --> 00:26:43,180
and built another structure.

301
00:26:43,269 --> 00:26:48,818
And one that is even possible, even
is more spectacular than the previous one.

302
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,430
And he'll be there in seconds
back to keep it that way.

303
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,420
The mountains of New Guinea
further north

304
00:27:04,509 --> 00:27:07,888
are much higher and wetter than
that of North Queensland.

305
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:12,340
It's on their flanks, most of the way through
leeches infested part of the forests,

306
00:27:12,428 --> 00:27:16,700
that you should go if you are almost
incredible complexity

307
00:27:16,788 --> 00:27:19,500
whither a maypole arbor
can be delivered.

308
00:27:20,750 --> 00:27:26,098
And this is the work of the
master builder among the bower birds.

309
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:31,430
I am in the Vogelkop, at the extreme end
western tip of New Guinea

310
00:27:31,509 --> 00:27:35,180
and this is the bower of
the Vogelkop bowerbird.

311
00:27:35,269 --> 00:27:40,778
And what a bafflement it is, certainly
one of the wonders of nature.

312
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:44,269
The gazebo is completely covered,

313
00:27:44,348 --> 00:27:48,380
covered with these stems of orchids.

314
00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:50,778
It is built around the base
of a sapling.

315
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:55,108
It has a strong pillar in the center.

316
00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:59,068
And it has two smaller pillars on it
the side to support it.

317
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:04,230
The whole treasury is
five or six meters wide,

318
00:28:04,308 --> 00:28:08,578
and what treasures it contains or which ones
variety of treasures it contains.

319
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:14,190
On the far side there are the
black stems of tree ferns.

320
00:28:14,269 --> 00:28:19,259
Here is the lawn, neatly planted with moss.

321
00:28:19,348 --> 00:28:23,740
And then the shiny one
elytra of beetles.

322
00:28:23,828 --> 00:28:27,940
There are orange fruits, these
shiny, orange, dead leaves.

323
00:28:28,028 --> 00:28:33,180
These are the jerks of the tropical
oaks that are common here.

324
00:28:34,068 --> 00:28:37,940
Behind me there are black fruits.

325
00:28:39,269 --> 00:28:43,818
This individual has nearby
completely different tastes though.

326
00:28:52,509 --> 00:28:56,288
His bower is the same way
large and beautifully covered

327
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,509
but he has taken advantage of it
a shrub that comes into bloom

328
00:28:59,588 --> 00:29:02,328
and has decided to make an impression

329
00:29:02,353 --> 00:29:05,484
on the wandering females
with floral decorations.

330
00:29:11,588 --> 00:29:16,180
It is not without significance that the
builders of the most elaborate arbors

331
00:29:16,269 --> 00:29:20,660
the most ordinary members of the family
without any form of crest.

332
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:27,868
Just a few hundred meters away,

333
00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:32,390
a third bower and again
a completely different performance.

334
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:38,390
This bird experiments with brown,
brown mold and brown leaves.

335
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,509
Another short walk and another
gazebo, a completely different collection.

336
00:29:44,588 --> 00:29:49,578
Blackcurrants, orange fruits and
blossoms of a mountain rhododendron.

337
00:29:53,308 --> 00:29:55,940
And this gazebo is different again.

338
00:29:56,028 --> 00:29:58,140
Any female in the species

339
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:01,588
must decide which composition
she likes the most.

340
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:05,868
She has to choose a man for
his skill as an artist.

341
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:14,068
Another branch of the family builds arbors
along completely different lines.

342
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,588
To see the simplest of these,
you have to go back to Australia.

343
00:30:19,548 --> 00:30:23,940
You might think this is normal
is a rather sloppy mess

344
00:30:24,028 --> 00:30:27,420
that some reckless one
bird has placed on the ground.

345
00:30:27,509 --> 00:30:31,618
But in fact it is not a nest at all.
It's another gazebo.

346
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:35,190
It has two sides.
It is a boulevard gazebo.

347
00:30:35,269 --> 00:30:38,578
There's a tidy area at that end.

348
00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,950
Just one or two treasures,
nothing spectacular.

349
00:30:42,028 --> 00:30:44,490
Just a few small green leaves.

350
00:30:44,588 --> 00:30:49,259
That, you might say, isn't that big of a deal
temptation to show to a female.

351
00:30:49,348 --> 00:30:52,740
But just wait until you see the bird
see who made it.

352
00:30:55,509 --> 00:30:59,578
The Regent bowerbird has the most
spectacular plumage of the family,

353
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:04,390
while his wife, like all
in the family, is very common.

354
00:31:10,828 --> 00:31:13,500
Apparently there is a rule among bowerbirds.

355
00:31:13,588 --> 00:31:16,940
The more elaborate your gazebo,
the less intense your plumage.

356
00:31:17,028 --> 00:31:19,220
And conversely, as in this case,

357
00:31:19,308 --> 00:31:22,259
the simpler the gazebo,
the more colorful the male.

358
00:31:22,348 --> 00:31:24,858
Because the male has such a
has beautiful plumage,

359
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,308
he pulls at first
understandably the females

360
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:31,348
by settling down in the
upper sunlit branches

361
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,150
where it can best be seen.

362
00:31:37,269 --> 00:31:40,700
Now that he's gotten her attention,
he must now lead her downstairs.

363
00:31:40,788 --> 00:31:43,858
His bower may not be much,
but she must have seen it

364
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:46,338
before she accepts him.

365
00:31:59,308 --> 00:32:01,140
And she follows.

366
00:32:06,028 --> 00:32:08,328
What will she think?

367
00:32:13,828 --> 00:32:17,608
Maybe because his collection isn't
is as great as some others,

368
00:32:17,720 --> 00:32:21,548
he picks up certain jewels
to show her individually,

369
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:25,108
in case they have some of their
has missed finer points.

370
00:32:48,269 --> 00:32:52,298
He also makes her realize
how great he is in person

371
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:54,700
through her the back
of his neck to show.

372
00:32:54,788 --> 00:32:58,680
It seems to be a family habit,
which is shared with other species

373
00:32:58,769 --> 00:33:00,718
who have crests on their necks.

374
00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:19,068
And what about this like a real treasure?
The shaggy skin of a cicada.

375
00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:23,308
It might have done that.
They go into the bushes together.

376
00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,108
In the woods a little further north,

377
00:33:29,200 --> 00:33:33,028
explains another member of the family
a somewhat more substantial approach.

378
00:33:33,108 --> 00:33:35,740
Higher walls, more treasures.

379
00:33:39,068 --> 00:33:43,500
The male Satin Bowerbird is
not as beautifully feathered as the Regent

380
00:33:43,588 --> 00:33:45,934
as you would expect,
as his bower

381
00:33:45,959 --> 00:33:48,404
is bigger, but he is
a beauty nonetheless.

382
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,068
He regularly chooses leaves as decoration.

383
00:33:57,160 --> 00:33:59,348
And he does something more.

384
00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:05,538
He makes his gazebo impressive
by painting it.

385
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:10,230
He chews leaves and rubs them
the pulp over the interior walls.

386
00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:13,469
One can only assume that
the females of this species

387
00:34:13,550 --> 00:34:16,900
a special preference
have for interior decoration.

388
00:34:28,590 --> 00:34:33,340
When it comes to jewelry, blue is
undoubtedly his favorite,

389
00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:35,900
objects like this berry.

390
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,949
Presumably, since Satin females
clearly find blue feathers attractive,

391
00:34:40,030 --> 00:34:43,809
this is an obvious way
to increase its appeal.

392
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,469
But his tastes are broad.
He likes a touch of green,

393
00:34:51,550 --> 00:34:54,699
curiosities such as cicada skins,

394
00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,070
strangely shaped bones and skulls

395
00:34:58,150 --> 00:35:00,380
and skeletonized leaves.

396
00:35:08,070 --> 00:35:10,685
Carrying one around
jewel is a sure sign

397
00:35:10,710 --> 00:35:13,324
that he knows there is one
female is nearby.

398
00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,829
She landed just behind him.

399
00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,429
Here she is.

400
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,789
Walking up the avenue is a strong one
indication that she is interested.

401
00:35:52,070 --> 00:35:55,300
“What could be better than this, ma'am?”

402
00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:10,230
She's gone.

403
00:36:14,150 --> 00:36:18,059
And so does he, his collection
leaving it unattended.

404
00:36:18,150 --> 00:36:22,699
That's reckless, taking into account
the family's propensity for theft.

405
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,139
Here comes his neighbor.

406
00:36:31,840 --> 00:36:34,550
Stealing is widespread
custom in the whole family.

407
00:36:34,630 --> 00:36:38,918
It happens when someone's personal
wealth is separated from his body.

408
00:36:39,010 --> 00:36:41,834
But it's not the only one
way a bowerbird

409
00:36:41,859 --> 00:36:44,323
the attraction of
can harm a rival.

410
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:48,550
The Australian desert
has its own kind,

411
00:36:48,630 --> 00:36:51,980
the western bowerbird
that we saw in the beginning.

412
00:36:52,070 --> 00:36:56,780
He builds particularly high walls on his avenue.

413
00:36:56,880 --> 00:37:01,429
But this doesn't own this
impressive gazebo. This is a rival.

414
00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:06,829
Pure vandalism.

415
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:18,789
He works quickly. The owner
can come back at any time.

416
00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:21,510
And if he gets caught,
there may be problems.

417
00:37:44,630 --> 00:37:47,980
Hours of work destroyed in a few minutes.

418
00:37:48,070 --> 00:37:52,018
If a female comes along before the
owner of this gazebo can rebuild it,

419
00:37:52,110 --> 00:37:55,980
will leave the vandal with an undamaged one, too
though inferior, gazebo nearby

420
00:37:56,070 --> 00:37:58,420
have the advantage.

421
00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:06,630
But not all interactions between
male bowerbirds are vengeful.

422
00:38:06,710 --> 00:38:09,579
In fact, they can do just that
be the opposite.

423
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:15,789
This for me is the work
of the great bowerbird,

424
00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:19,389
which are the greatest of all privilions
of the avenue type.

425
00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,829
But it was not produced
by a single man.

426
00:38:24,800 --> 00:38:29,150
That's a youngster, one
young boy, as it were,

427
00:38:29,230 --> 00:38:31,618
and he is part of
a group of approx

428
00:38:31,643 --> 00:38:33,884
half a dozen young,
immature males,

429
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:38,268
boys, students, who their
are learning skills

430
00:38:38,360 --> 00:38:41,070
by working together on this gazebo.

431
00:38:47,710 --> 00:38:52,780
The techniques of wall construction seem just
so easy to get to a bowerbird

432
00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:55,869
as nest building does in other birds.

433
00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:59,150
But home decorating is something else

434
00:38:59,230 --> 00:39:02,739
and these young people seem like them
to have your own ideas.

435
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:07,389
They have a gazebo here in Townsville
built on the municipal cemetery.

436
00:39:15,550 --> 00:39:18,372
Cemeteries provide
special possibilities

437
00:39:18,397 --> 00:39:20,513
for an imaginative bowerbird.

438
00:39:27,280 --> 00:39:29,429
Marble stones.

439
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:39,869
And a lot of it.

440
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:43,429
That can of course be a disadvantage.

441
00:39:43,510 --> 00:39:46,260
The thing about diamonds is that
impresses a girl

442
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,750
is that they are rare and therefore expensive.

443
00:39:49,840 --> 00:39:53,150
You can't say that here
about marble stones.

444
00:39:53,230 --> 00:39:55,530
Yet they can work.

445
00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:06,829
You can vary them a bit.

446
00:40:06,920 --> 00:40:11,070
Snail shells, a few pieces
of beer bottles, a hairband.

447
00:40:11,150 --> 00:40:13,739
But marble stones are the favorite.

448
00:40:15,150 --> 00:40:18,075
Als je niet kunt imponeren
with rarity, then

449
00:40:18,100 --> 00:40:20,844
is quantity perhaps
something to go for.

450
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:26,429
But shifting it in large numbers
making marble stones is thirsty work.

451
00:40:50,150 --> 00:40:53,099
On the other side of town, the barracks,

452
00:40:53,190 --> 00:40:56,619
and it has other options
for a bowerbird.

453
00:40:57,630 --> 00:41:03,460
Camouflage green becomes modern
military used for all kinds of things.

454
00:41:03,550 --> 00:41:06,539
En de vogel die dit prieel bezit

455
00:41:06,630 --> 00:41:10,980
clearly thinks it's just the
color is that dazzles the female,

456
00:41:11,070 --> 00:41:15,500
because he has a whole collection here
collected green objects.

457
00:41:15,590 --> 00:41:18,300
There are foot powder packs,

458
00:41:18,400 --> 00:41:21,590
pieces of elastic...

459
00:41:21,670 --> 00:41:25,420
but mostly caps of
water bottles in green.

460
00:41:25,510 --> 00:41:30,099
But he just chooses green
because that happens a lot in the area?

461
00:41:30,190 --> 00:41:32,018
Let's find out.

462
00:41:35,760 --> 00:41:38,059
He'll be back in seconds.

463
00:41:42,100 --> 00:41:46,230
I shifted that bottle carelessly.
That's the first thing that needs to be corrected.

464
00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:50,309
And what is that?
That is certainly not enough.

465
00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:58,739
You might think there's plenty here
military gear is for everyone.

466
00:41:58,840 --> 00:42:01,750
On the other hand, you can steal from the neighbor

467
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,539
not just improve your collection,
but damage his.

468
00:42:16,110 --> 00:42:19,380
The owner is back and has to go
being a female nearby.

469
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,989
He begins his display.

470
00:42:22,070 --> 00:42:27,010
His only bright feathers are in that one
small pink crest on the back of his neck.

471
00:42:27,110 --> 00:42:28,780
That's her.

472
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:39,110
This is the time to take advantage of its attractions
by showing her his crest

473
00:42:39,190 --> 00:42:44,050
and draw her attention to one
of his choice possessions.

474
00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:54,389
And while he is
goes through display rituals,

475
00:42:54,480 --> 00:42:57,039
so do his human neighbors.

476
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:45,110
When you make a nest,
that must be great.

477
00:43:45,190 --> 00:43:47,699
There is a school a few kilometers away.

478
00:43:49,230 --> 00:43:52,900
There are many things for this
an avant-garde bower bird

479
00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:59,340
who wants to impress women by letting
see what innovative taste he has.

480
00:44:00,150 --> 00:44:04,380
And indeed, there is a gazebo,
big and spectacular,

481
00:44:04,480 --> 00:44:06,989
in the middle of the school grounds.

482
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:10,949
It was built by someone else
collective of young males

483
00:44:11,030 --> 00:44:13,489
who practice their arts.

484
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:27,670
He flies above it. He carries
something back to its hiding place?

485
00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:30,469
Take some to the open square. Come on.

486
00:44:39,230 --> 00:44:41,579
The boys are coming.

487
00:45:00,110 --> 00:45:03,650
There are all kinds of things to try.

488
00:45:19,070 --> 00:45:21,739
So the bowerbirds are
came to town.

489
00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:25,460
Like everyone else, who is in favor of it
first comes to the big city,

490
00:45:25,550 --> 00:45:29,018
they discover all kinds of things
new visual excitement

491
00:45:29,110 --> 00:45:32,780
that they never knew in their
old houses in the countryside.

492
00:45:49,320 --> 00:45:52,555
Who knows what such
extraordinary bird artists

493
00:45:52,580 --> 00:45:55,333
will do with such new materials

494
00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:57,780
in the coming years?

495
00:46:02,840 --> 00:46:06,590
No other male animal tries
to impress his partner

496
00:46:06,670 --> 00:46:10,449
not with its power, beauty
or physical skill,

497
00:46:10,550 --> 00:46:15,820
but with the wealth he has
collected through industry, theft,

498
00:46:15,920 --> 00:46:18,150
or artistic inspiration.

499
00:46:18,230 --> 00:46:20,500
Except one, of course.

500
00:46:20,590 --> 00:46:22,179
We.

501
00:46:22,280 --> 00:46:25,670
But in both cases it seems to work.

502
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,030
Yes, that's nice.