Tooth-billed Bowerbird

1. Unique serrated (“toothed”) bill

2. Olive-brown above, streaked buff and brown below, no bright colours

3. Males create ground courts decorated with fresh green leaves, pale-side up

Tooth-billed Bowerbirds are primarily fruit-eaters, using their specialized bill to manipulate tough rainforest fruits and leaves. Males are polygynous and invest heavily in building and maintaining their display courts \- a cleared patch of forest floor decorated with fresh green leaves arranged pale-side up, which can be used for many years. Breeding occurs from September to January. After mating, the female builds a well-hidden cup-shaped nest high in the canopy, often in a tangle of vines, and incubates a single egg on her own. Only the female cares for the chick. Males spend much of the breeding season calling and displaying from perches near their courts. The species is mostly sedentary, with adults maintaining permanent home ranges.

Tooth-billed Bowerbirds are found in the upland rainforests of the Wet Tropics in northeast Queensland, from the Paluma Range near Townsville north to Cooktown. They are most common between 6 and 13 meters elevation, especially on ridges and hillsides in mature rainforest, but can also be found in adjacent regrowth forests. Look and listen for them in places like Mount Hypipamee, Paluma Range, and the forests near Kuranda. Males are most vocal and active near their courts from September to January, making early morning the best time to detect their varied calls and mimicry.