Keith Horton, Satin Bowerbirds (ANIMALS 2026)

Satin bowerbirds are Australian birds. Males build specialised stick structures, called bowers, and they decorate the area with blue and yellow objects. These objects may be natural, but in urban settings are more often plastic. Females visit these bowers and based on their inspections choose which male to mate with. The birds pictured here are immature males. They are practising the moves they will use one day in an attempt to impress females. They have constructed a ramshackle practice bower. In one of the photos, another young male looks on from the bower.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.