The effect of Tropical Cyclone Larry on tooth‐billed bowerbird Scenopoeetes dentirostris court attendance and decoration

Abstract

Abstract The effect of Severe Tropical Cyclone Larry on tooth‐billed bowerbird court attendance and decoration was assessed for 32 courts located on the southern Atherton Tablelands. Numbers of active courts and the number of leaves on courts were compared with the two previous court attendance seasons. Compared with the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons, when court attendance was well established by mid‐September, tooth‐billed bowerbirds commenced court attendance late in the 2006/2007 season that followed Cyclone Larry. There were no courts active in mid‐September, and few were active in the first week of October. Twenty‐five percent fewer courts were active over the course of the 2006/2007 season than in the 2005/2006 season. For most of the 2006/2007 season, the average number of leaves on courts was significantly lower than in the previous two seasons. The 2006/2007 tooth‐billed bowerbird court attendance season appears to have been affected by direct disturbance to court sites and by the fruit shortage that followed the cyclone.