variegated fairy-wren

In eclipse and just starting to moult into it's breeding plumage .

Male in breeding plumage .

Coming into breeding colours .

Can hear them in there and can see them in there but do they want to come right out in the open ? NO !!

They are so small and not easy to photograph.

To me this is our equivalent to the N. Hemisphere Robin as a bird associated with Xmas time.

Nearly in full breeding colours. I don't usually photograph birds that have been ringed but on this occasion thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.

These birds flit very quickly between the twigs and branches so very hard to get a completely clear shot

Not a great capture but tends to show the various colours in the breeding plumage

Taken front on to try to show the tail a little better. One of my favourite birds to photograph.

In Sydney last week were a pair of males with females at the local lagoon. First time I've seen them there.

I just returned today from two weeks camping in the Flinders Ranges National Park - outback South Australia.

I saw lots of these birds on my recent trip up north but I never managed to get them in the correct light without shadows falling on them.

From a distance, the male Variegated Fairy-wren seems plainer and less spectacular than the familiar blue and black Superb Fairy-wren, which is splendid, or the all-blue Splendid Fairy-wren, which is quite superb. In contrast, the multicoloured Variegated Fairy-wren is just a blob of fast-moving...