Satin Bowerbird

Satin Bowerbird

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Royal National Park
856 Verified sightings at Royal National Park From 2019 to 2026
9,569 Verified sightings across all 9 parks From 2019 to 2026
October Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Satin Bowerbird

The satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) is a species of passerine bird in the bowerbird family Ptilonorhynchidae that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is the only species placed in the genus Ptilonorhynchus. The satin bowerbird was formally described in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot. He placed it with the choughs in the genus Pyrrhocorax and coined the binomial name Pyrrhocorax violaceus. Vieillot specified the type locality as "Nouvelle-Hollande" which is taken to be Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The satin bowerbird is now the only species placed in the genus Ptilonorhynchus that was introduced in 1820 by German naturalist Heinrich Kuhl. He specified the type species as Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus, which is a junior synonym of Vieillot's Pyrrhocorax violaceus. The genus name Ptilonorhynchus combines the Ancient Greek πτιλον/ptilon meaning "feather" with ῥυγχος/rhunkhos meaning "bill". The specific epithet violaceus is Latin meaning "violet-coloured".

A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2020 found that the genus Ptilonorhynchus was sister to the genus Chlamydera. Two subspecies are recognised: P. v. violaceus (Vieillot,... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~80%
2 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
3 Booderee National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
4 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
5 Kosciuszko National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
6 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
7 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
8 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
9 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Satin Bowerbird in Royal National Park?

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Satin Bowerbird sighting in Royal National Park, based on 856 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Satin Bowerbird in Royal National Park?

October has the highest sighting rate for Satin Bowerbird in Royal National Park in our monthly data.

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