Photos by timlaman / The "artists" that created these structures and piles of decoration in Indonesia's Arfak Mountains are male Vogelkop bowerbirds. Yes, that small bird built that entire structure all by himself. The amazing thing about this species of bowerbird is that they seem to have a gene for creativity, and each individual male decorates his bower differently. I’ve been collecting images of bowers on multiple visits to the area for over 17 years. The bowers were photographed on the same mountainside, where the same materials were available to the birds. If you’re not familiar with bowerbirds, you might be surprised to learn that this structure and the decoration have only one purpose: to impress females, and seduce them into mating with the artist. The females then go off and make a nest and raise their young on their own. Rather sadly, on recent trips to the region, I've noticed more and more bowers decorating with “modern art”—trash from nearby roads or villages, as seen in ...