- Malurus splendens
Identification
11·5–13·5 cm (4½-5¼ in)
Breeding Male: bright blue and black
Otherwise males, females and juveniles are mostly grey-brown.
Distribution
Much of inland and south-western Australia, but nowhere near the north coast or east of the great divide.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Four subspecies are commonly recognized[1]:
- M. s. splendens:
- Southern Western Australia (Shark Bay to Esperance and Laverton)
- M. s. callainus:
- South-central Western Australia to Flinders Ranges, South Australia
- M. s. melanotus:
- Semi-arid south-eastern Australia (Flinders Ranges to west Darling basin)
- M. s. emmottorum:
- Semi-arid central Queensland
Subspecies callainus is recognized by some authorities. Some authorities have in the past given species status to callainus (Turquoise Fairywren) and melanotus (Black-backed Fairywren). Clements in the 2024 update recognized callainus but stopped recognizing musgravi.
Habitat
Arid and semi-arid regions.
Behaviour
Partly nomadic.
Diet
Their diet consists mostly of insects, such as ants, small beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and bugs. They also eat some seeds.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 15.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.15.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Splendid Fairywren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 30 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Splendid_Fairywren
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
