bower-bird, n. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

bower-bird n.

[SE bower-bird, one of several Aus. birds of the starling family, which build bowers or ‘runs’ and adorn them with feathers, bones, shells etc]

(Aus.)

1. a petty thief [reinforced by bower n. (2)].

1943		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. (2nd edn) 13: Bower bird, a petty thief.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 230/2: bowerbird – a thief, if applied to persons.

2. a scavenger of waste and similar trifles.

1941		K. Tennant Battlers 301: George the Bower-bird [was] prowling around deserted camps, swooping on rubbish.
1968		D. O’Grady A Bottle of Sandwiches 7: ‘More trouble than you’re worth,’ he said. ‘Yer bloody bowerbirds.’.
1986		R. Beckett Dinkum Aussie Dict. 11: Bower bird: An Australian native bird that decorates its home with useless glittering items in an effort to entice a female bower bird to share his life. In human terms the description retains its essential accuracy.