Superb Fairywren - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by rebelxt.
Adelaide, South Australia, October 2005

Malurus cyaneus

Identification

15–20 cm (6-7¾ in)
Male

• Bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle and tail
• Black mask
• Black or dark blue throat
  

Non-breeding males, females and juveniles

• Mostly greyish-brown; the male retains the blue tail

Photo © by Rose Fletcher.
Nangawooka Flora Reserve, Victor Harbor, South Australia, June 2010

Distribution

Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 6 subspecies^[1]

• M. c. cyaneus:

• Tasmania

• M. c. samueli :

• Flinders Island (Bass Strait)

• M. c. elizabethae:

• King Island (Bass Strait)

• M. c. cyanochlamys: smaller and paler than cyaneus

• South-eastern Australia (central Queensland to southern and central Victoria)

Female
Photo © by letsbefrank
Centennial Park, Sydney, Australia, August 2015

• M. c. leggei:

• Southern Australia (southern Eyre Peninsula, South Australia to extreme south-western Victoria)

• M. c. ashbyi:

• Kangaroo Island (South Australia)

Habitat

Grasslands with scattered shrubs, moderately thick forest, woodland, heaths, and domestic gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet consists mostly of insects, such as grasshoppers, shield-bugs, ants, weevils and flies. They will also eat some seeds.

Breeding

They form social groups, the main pair are monogamous through the year.

The domed or rounded nest is made from grass and spider webs. The entrance is usually close to the ground. The clutch consists of 3-4 white eggs which have reddish-brown spots or splotches, which are incubated for 14 days. There may be up to four clutches laid.

Gallery

Click on photo for larger image

• 

  In moult
  Photo © by Ken Doy
  Kedron Brook, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, March 2015

• 

  Non-breeding
  Photo © by Ken Doy
  Sandy Camp Rd Wetlands, Queensland, Australia, April 2016

• 

  Juvenile
  Photo © by Kirsten Broere
  Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, March 2017

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved June 2016)
4. Wikipedia

External Links

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