
Cat activity at Golden Bowerbird bowers and Tooth-billed Bowerbird courts
Predation by Feral Cats (Felis catus) could be a threat to bowerbirds that spend frequent short periods of time on or near the ground during their breeding season. To assess this risk, Feral Cat activity at three Golden Bowerbird (Prionodura newtoniana) (GBB) bowers and nine Tooth-billed Bowerbird (Scenopoeetes dentirostris) (TBBB) courts was determined from video footage collected from automated cameras on a single ridge in Wet Tropics upland rainforest. Fifty-five cat events were recorded at GBB bowers over 3179 trap days, and 23 at TBBB courts over 836 trap days. Fifty-three percent of cat records were of a cat walking past a camera and not interacting with a bower or court. Where cats did interact with a bower or court, their most frequent activity was walking over it. Although peak bowerbird and cat detection periods overlapped, cat visits to bowers and courts were infrequent and there was no evidence of bowerbirds being predated.
