The sexual success of the male spotted bowerbird depends on his gardening skills. In his patch of forest, where he displays to mates, he cultivates a small fruiting shrub called the ‘bush tomato’, with purple flowers and green fruit.

It’s not clear if his actions are deliberate or inadvertent, but it is clear that he doesn’t eat the fruit. The plant is there to provide him with decorations, to make his boudoir that much more enticing to a female. Aside from humans, the spotted bowerbird is the only other animal that grows a plant for purposes other than food.

Bowerbirds are both superb architects and interior designers. The males build elaborate structures called bowers, which they use as arenas for