About the White-winged Fairywren
The white-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It lives in the drier parts of Central Australia; from central Queensland and South Australia across to Western Australia. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked sexual dimorphism and one or more males of a social group grow brightly coloured plumage during the breeding season. The female is sandy-brown with light-blue tail feathers; it is smaller than the male, which, in breeding plumage, has a bright-blue body, black bill, and white wings. Younger sexually mature males are almost indistinguishable from females and are often the breeding males. In spring and summer, a troop of…
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Measuring 11 to 13.5 centimetres (4.3 to 5.3 in) in length, white-winged fairywrens are one of the two smallest species of Malurus. Males typically weigh between 7.2 and 10.9 grams (0.25 and 0.38 oz) while females weigh between 6.8 and 11 grams (0.24 and 0.39 oz). Averaging 8.5 mm (0.3 in) in males and 8.4 mm (0.3 in) in females, the bill is relatively long, narrow and pointed and wider at the base. Wider than it is deep, the bill is similar in shape to those of other birds that feed by probing for or picking insects off their environs. Voice: In 1980, Tideman characterised five different patterns of calls among Malurus leucopterus leuconotus; these were recognised by Pruett and Jones among the island subspecies M. l. edouardi. The main call is a reel made by both sexes in order to establish territory and unify the group. It is a long song of "rising and falling notes" that is first signaled by 3–5 chip notes.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What the White-winged Fairywren sounds like
Where the White-winged Fairywren lives
When to see the White-winged Fairywren
Peak activity in September · a resident species across most of its range
Easily confused with
Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilisThe purple-backed fairywren is on average 14.5 cm (5.5 in) long.
Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendensThe splendid fairywren is a small, long-tailed bird 14 cm (5.5 in) long.
Red-winged FairywrenMalurus elegansThe red-winged fairywren is 15 cm (6 in) long and weighs 8–11 g (0.28–0.39 oz), making it the largest of the fairywrens.
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