Splendid Fairywren
Malurus splendens
The Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens) is a uncommon grasswrens, fairywrens, and emu-wren found only in Australia, weighing about 9 g. The splendid fairywren is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae.
About the Splendid Fairywren
The splendid fairywren is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is also known simply as the splendid wren or more colloquially in Western Australia as the blue wren. The splendid fairywren is found across much of the Australian continent from central-western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland over to coastal Western Australia. It inhabits predominantly arid and semiarid regions. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male in breeding plumage is a small, long-tailed bird of predominantly bright blue and black colouration. Nonbreeding males, females, and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males…
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The splendid fairywren is a small, long-tailed bird 14 cm (5.5 in) long. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the breeding male is distinctive with a bright blue forehead and ear coverts, a violet throat, and deeper rich blue back wings, chest, and tail with a black bill, eye band, and chest band. The blue breeding plumage of the male is often referred to as nuptial plumage. The non-breeding male is brown with blue in the wings and a bluish tail. The female resembles the non-breeding male but has a chestnut bill and eye-patch.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Splendid Fairywren can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Splendid Fairywren?
- The splendid fairywren is a small, long-tailed bird 14 cm (5.5 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Splendid Fairywren?
- The Splendid Fairywren is a tiny sized bird weighing about 9 g.
- Where can you see a Splendid Fairywren?
- The Splendid Fairywren is endemic to Australia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Splendid Fairywren?
- The Splendid Fairywren is most easily confused with the Purple-backed Fairywren, the White-winged Fairywren and the Red-winged Fairywren.
- Is the Splendid Fairywren endangered?
- The Splendid Fairywren is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Splendid Fairywren for real
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