- Malurus assimilis
Identification
11·5–14·5 cm (4½-5¾ in)
Male
- Blue crown
- Paler blue ear-coverts
- Black collar
- Royal blue mantle
- Rufous scapulars
- Black lower back
Distribution
Australia: found in mainland Australia west of the Great Dividing Range. Subspecies M.a. bernieri is restricted to Bernier Island in Western Australia.
Taxonomy
Formerly included in Variegated Fairywren
Subspecies
There are 4 subspecies[1]:
- M. a. rogersi:
- northern Australia (Kimberley region in northeastern Western Australia)
- M. a. dulcis:
- northern Australia (central Arnhem Land in northern Northern Territory)
- M. a. assimilis:
- interior of Australia, extending to coasts in western Western Australia
- M. a. bernieri:
- Bernier Island, Western Australia
Habitat
Dense scrubby vegetation, track side thickets, saltbush.
Behaviour
Diet
Their main diet consists of a variety of arthropods and insects, such as grasshoppers, bugs, beetles, flies, ants, wasps, and spiders. They also eat some seeds.
Breeding
Their nest is a domed oval structure built by the female. It is made from grass, twigs and bark. Fine grass, fur and feathers are used to line the cup. The clutch consists of 2-4 eggs, which are incubated by the female.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Rowley, I. and E. Russell (2020). Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.varfai1.01
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Purple-backed Fairywren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Purple-backed_Fairywren
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
