The flame bowerbird is one of the most brilliantly coloured bowerbirds. The male is a medium-sized bird, up to 25 cm long, with flame orange and golden yellow plumage, elongated neck plumes and yellow-tipped black tail. It builds an "avenue-type" bower with two side walls of sticks. The female is an olive brown bird with yellow or golden around the stomach.
Region
New Guinea
Typical Environment
Occurs in lowland and foothill rainforests across northern and western New Guinea, including primary forest, edges, and well-developed secondary growth. It favors dense understory near clearings or streams where bowers can be placed on level ground. Birds frequent fruiting trees in the mid- to lower canopy and may descend to the forest floor to forage. It can persist in selectively logged forest if fruit resources remain and disturbance is not excessive.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Males build an avenue-type bower on the forest floor and decorate it with bright yellow and orange objects to entice females. Their courtship display includes bowing, wing-flicking, and weaving head movements that highlight the fiery plumage. The bower is not a nest; females choose a mate at the bower but later build and tend the nest alone.
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats through dense understory
Social Behavior
Polygynous; males maintain and display at individual avenue bowers, while females visit multiple bowers before selecting a mate. After mating, females build a cup nest in vegetation and rear the young alone. Bowers are maintained and refurbished seasonally and can be reused.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include sharp whistles, rasps, and buzzing notes given during display. Males incorporate varied calls and may mimic surrounding forest sounds, delivering sequences from perches near the bower.
