Male bowerbirds in Australia's northern Queensland are significantly altering their courtship displays due to the increased availability of human-made items in urban environments. Scientists from the University of Exeter studied 61 great bowerbirds across urban Townsville City and rural Dreghorn Cattle Station between September and December 2023. Their research, published in Royal Society Open Science, found that urban bowerbirds have greater access to and preference for brightly colored, human-made decorations to adorn their twig bowers, which are central to their mating rituals. The study involved photographing bower decorations, including those visible and in UV light, and then removing them to observe the birds' choices from a mixed pile of urban and rural bower items.