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Project Noah Nature School
Malurus cyaneus
A passerine bird of the Maluridae family, common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. The species is sedentary and territorial, also exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism; the male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat. This male has moulted out of his bright breeding plumage and into his dull winter feathers.
Dry sclerophyll bushland.
Spotted on Sep 8, 2011
Submitted on Jul 15, 2012
6 Comments
Every Spring and Fall I see some males in breeding plumage and some in eclipse with in kilometers of each other. Seems to be a microclimate thing. Our boys have all gone into their winter garb. The grown chicks are still here, and still learning from their parents. Ours is a very birdy yard.
Thanks for the great photo. there have been a couple of females hopping around my yard lately. I've seen no blue ones, except near The Waterworks.
What a lovely fellow, very cute!! Great pic, Lori!
Superb is the word :)
I can pretty much look out any of our windows and see one of these fairy wrens hopping about on the grass. We love them. In the Spring each pair breeds at least two or three clutches. The parents a frantic feeding them all. Some of them 'cheat' and take the fledglings to our dog's bowl. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/676...
I can see the resemblance with the Tailor bird, now that you mention it. I think it's the jaunty tail.