Bird of the Week: Superb Fairy-wren 8 January 2021
The much-loved and famous “Blue Wren” of south-eastern Australia. This is a bird that almost everyone knows or has some experience with. Overseas visitors are often fascinated by them – especially the bright blue males.
There are other blue birds in the world, but there’s something about fairy-wrens that is simply delightful. The jaunty cocked tail, the confident way they hop around – even in backyards and around picnic tables – the handsome colour palette of black and sky blue that seems to glow, make this bird an A-list star.
In East Gippsland they are so successful and numerous you can see them every day. But most of the Superb Fairy-wrens you see anywhere will be ‘brown’ birds: females, juveniles & non-breeding males. They are less obvious though, and easily overlooked.
Adult breeding males have the well-known blue and black plumage. The dominant male of the group may keep this plumage all year round. It’s been my experience that you can always find a full blue Superb Fairy-wren in East Gippsland quite easily – maybe it’s because there are so many around. Other types of fairy-wrens seem to lose their blue colouring in winter more. Has anyone else noticed this?
Younger males change into blue plumage only in breeding season, which is why you see more ‘males’ in Spring & Summer. If you see a brown bird with a few blue feathers around the head, it is a young male changing into his breeding plumage.
Females are brown, with an orange-brown bill & lores*/eye-patch and a dull blue tail.
lores: the area between the bill and eye on a bird
Juvenile birds look like females but have a brown tail.
Adult males outside of the breeding season always have a black bill and dark blue tail. They don’t have the orange-brown lores that females and juveniles have.
There are six subspecies of Superb Fairy-wren that differ mostly in size. The 3 subspecies of Tas, Flinders & King Island have darker blue breeding males than the mainland subspecies.
There is possibly another species of fairywren that could come to Mallacoota: the Variegated Fairy-wren – see pics here: https://ebird.org/species/varfai5. They have been seen as close as Merimbula and Ben Boyd NP. So if you ever see a blue wren with no black line through his eye, and an orange “back” (actually the upper parts of his wings) take a pic and post on Mallacoota Birds please! Females have a dark mark in front of their eyes (lores) that is much darker than their orange bill.
Being bright and gorgeous gives males an advantage in their attractiveness to females, and thus breeding success, but it also comes at a cost. Bright blue males are more at risk from predators. An interesting study found that blue males are more likely to hide when danger is near, and take longer to re-emerge after danger has past.
https://theconversation.com/it-isnt-easy-being-blue-the-cost-of-colour-in-fairy-wrens-80006
LISTEN TO THE CALLS & Scroll through to see lots of great pics here: https://ebird.org/species/supfai1
Details: Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus cyanochlamys
Location: South-eastern Australia from central Queensland through coastal NSW, all of Vic & Tas to south-east SA. Our subspecies most of Vic except the far west, NSW & QLD. Other subspecies: cyaneus in Tas, leggei in SA, ashbyi in Kangaroo Island, samueli in Flinders Island & elizabethae on King Island.
Conservation status/learn more: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/superb-fairy-wren
Thanks to Caroline Jones, Rob Clay, Jenny Lawrence, Martin & Mariska Ascher, John Hutchison & Michael Barnett for your lovely photos.
Mallacoota Birds 