The fairy wren is one of Australia’s most iconic small birds, with striking blue and black plumage. Although they are primarily insectivorous, they will also eat seeds and fruit. They are endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Like many species of bird, fairy wren are sociable, and may form family groups including adult pairs with their young. A male’s complex and appealing calls may be used to attract females, or to deter predators from the nest. They sometimes pretend to be an injured rodent scurrying away from the nest, a technique known as face fanning.
Superb fairy wrens build a dome-shaped nest close to the ground in thick vegetation, with an entrance on one side. They lay 3 or 4 eggs, which are usually incubated for 14 days. Newborn chicks are blind, reddish-brown with splotches and spots, and are initially featherless. The nest is loosely woven with grass, spider webs, and animal hair, and is lined with wool and animal hair. The family will often include other fairy wren helpers, typically previous offspring of the breeding pair.
The Blue-breasted Fairywren is found in a wide swath of dry eucalypt forest across northern Australia, and is distinguishable from the chestnut-shouldered fairy wren by its dark blue head and cheek feathers. It has a beautiful lark-like song. It can be spotted foraging with family groups in the understory of dense eucalyptus woodlands, as well as on the ground and in low shrubs.
Both of these fairy wrens are strikingly beautiful and incredibly social, with the Blue-breasted displaying the most distinctive breeding plumage of any of the subspecies. They are a very common species, and can be seen in all parts of their range.
In contrast to the brilliant breeding colours of the other fairy wrens, the Purple-crowned Fairywren has light grey head, wings, and ruffles, with a creamy white throat and belly, and a black mask and nape. The tail is light grey, with a blue tinge. The lores and eye-ring are light rufous to tan.
A number of our AWC sanctuaries host Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens, and they can often be heard singing their unique duets of loud trilling. They are highly territorial, defending their patch of bush with a series of harsh and repeated calls.
While their bright plumage makes them easy to recognise, the male Purple-crowned Fairy-wrens can look dull when they are moulting. They will lose their bright blue feathers first, and as they shed them, the head and wings will appear a mottled shade of blue, black, and grey-white.
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