by Claire O'Neill

National Geographic

I'm almost not even joking. Take the first photo in this gallery, for example. It looks like something you'd find in a modern art museum – and by that I just mean (and no offense to the rest of the animal kingdom): it looks man-made.

That's what draws scientists and photographers alike to bowerbirds. Their nests, technically called bowers, are deliberately crafted stick by stick, stone by stone – or in some cases bug by bug or scrap of litter by... you get it. It's true: Some of these birds recycle found scraps (we'll call them the humanitarians) while others kill other animals with the sole intention of using them in construction (the misanthropes). A story with photos by photographer Tim Laman appears in this month's National Geographic magazine.

  • A construction built by a Great Bowerbird, located far from civilization in the dry forest west of the village of Irvinebank, is mostly stones.
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    A construction built by a Great Bowerbird, located far from civilization in the dry forest west of the village of Irvinebank, is mostly stones.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic
  • A Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus minor) male in Australia "paints" the inner walls of his bower with chewed-up plant matter. This bower is decorated with all natural objects.
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    A Satin Bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus minor) male in Australia "paints" the inner walls of his bower with chewed-up plant matter. This bower is decorated with all natural objects.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic
  • A Great bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) male displays one of his prized decorations (a pink paper clip found on the college campus). This is the female's eye view looking out of the bower to the male peeking around the corner with a decoration.
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    A Great bowerbird (Chlamydera nuchalis) male displays one of his prized decorations (a pink paper clip found on the college campus). This is the female's eye view looking out of the bower to the male peeking around the corner with a decoration.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic
  • The bower of a Vogelkopf Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) is decorated with Piper leaves, orange fungi, and blue berries.
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    The bower of a Vogelkopf Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) is decorated with Piper leaves, orange fungi, and blue berries.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic
  • This Vogelkopf Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) likes to recycle: its bower is decorated with various types of trash and some flowers.
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    This Vogelkopf Bowerbird (Amblyornis inornatus) likes to recycle: its bower is decorated with various types of trash and some flowers.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic
  • Piles of acorns, black fungi and pandanus flowers make up another Vogelkopf bower.
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    Piles of acorns, black fungi and pandanus flowers make up another Vogelkopf bower.
    Tim Laman/National Geographic

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They're pretty impressive creatures. Unfortunately, for some reason all I can think about is that scene in "The Three Caballeros," which I begrudgingly watched as a child. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I definitely don't blame you.) In any case, if you haven't seen Tim Lamans' photography before, it's definitely worth checking out. See more, like monkeys "chilling" in Japanese hot springs, on his website. Or read the National Geographic article in its entirety.