The paper-clip suitor - Tim Laman - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2011

2011: Behaviour: Birds - Highly Commended

Tim Laman Enlarge image The paper-clip suitor

Tim Laman (USA)

The paper-clip suitor

Male bowerbirds are famous for collecting various random items to tempt a prospective mate with. Few, though, match the great bowerbird's eclectic taste. Living in northern Australia, the male accumulates artifacts as diverse as pebbles, snail shells, vertebrae, rifle shells, CDs and, in this instance, a pretty pink paper clip. Not only do the males use their stash to impress the females, but they will also boost their haul by stealing from each other. After enticing a female to enter his bower - a 'bivouac' of twigs - a male will choose one of his prized decorations and strut back and forth in front of the entrance, showing off to her. Tim photographed this bower in a surprisingly public place, the campus of James Cook University, Queensland, and got down low to get a bowerbird's perspective of the display. 'This,' he says, 'is the female's view from inside the bower, with the eager male, mid-strut, peering back at her.'

Canon EOS-1D + 300mm f2.8 lens + 1.4x extender; 1/45 sec at f8; ISO 640; flash fill.

This photograph is available to buy as a print.