Who are the gardeners birds?
Garden birds, bower birds, are small birds similar to our own blackbirds, but come from New Guinea and Australia and are very unique animals. Their peculiarity does not lie so much in song or colored plumage, as in their way of courting their females. The gardeners birds in fact use fruits, berries and flowers to be arranged as colorful decorations around their house, built in the shape of a cozy pergola, in order to create attractive sexual scenes for demanding females. It is known, animals, like men, strive in the most varied ways to attract a soul mate: for example, the Mississippi alligators conquer the beloved by neck strokes, in fact during the courtship the male brings out the muzzle from the water showing the throat discovered to the partner; or the traditional courtship dances are used, especially those of aquatic turtles; or again the example of the allocco that gives the female the booty of her nocturnal hunting to conquer it. The most singular thing that differentiates them from other species is that, in preparing their decorations, gardeners seem to have implemented precise plans, such as cleaning the ground and making sure that decorative plants can grow around there, just like in a well-kept garden.
Garden birds really grow!
A recent discovery tells us that gardeners really grow their plants. It is precisely the only non-human species capable of growing plants exclusively for decorative purposes. The discovery, published in the journal Current Biology, is due to an international research group coordinated by the British university of Exeter . Birds would grow some plants involuntarily. This is how it happens: the males harvest fruits, but when they shrivel and dry, they discard them, placing them near their nest. This involves the germination of the seeds in the soil around the pergola, kept neat and clean, with the ideal conditions for growth and development for new plants. Male gardeners can keep an arbor in the same spot for more than ten years. In addition to flowers and fruits, gardeners also collect shells, leaves, feathers, stones, plastic waste or pieces of glass for their decorations. The bird then organizes its collection and if an object is moved while the animal is away, it will put it back in its place! When a female arrives to inspect the nest, the male sings and waits for judgment: in doing so he hopes to convince her to enter his arbor, where the mating takes place. The female then flies out and build a nearby nest, where she lays and hatches the eggs. Meanwhile the male will try to win new females!
More than a curiosity ... The Bowerbirds are also a musical group very close to nature! There is even a game for children about bird gardeners and on the Forthebirds website you can find all the information on this unique species of animals!
