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Photo by Neil Fifer

Microeca fascinans

[edit] Identification

5 to 5.5 inches (12.5 to 14 cm) long and weigh 0.5 to 0.65 ounces (14 to 18 grams). Sand coloured crowns and backs, white and brown-grey wings and tails, white throats and undersides. White ring over their eyes.

[edit] Distribution

Australia and New Guinea.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Habitat

Woodlands and scrub where there are trees and an abundance of insects.

[edit] Behaviour

Diet includes flying insects, beetles, worms, and insect larvae, the newly hatched wingless form of insects. Jacky winters usually dive for insects from a perch and take them either on the wing while in the air or by scooping them up as they fly low over the ground.

The nest, made of grass and roots, is built in a fork of a branch of a tree. 2-3 light blue eggs that are blotched with lavender and brown are laid and incubated for 16-17 days. Both parents feed the young birds for 14-17 days.

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID