The superb fairywren (''Malurus cyaneus'') is a
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
in the
Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and
territorial
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
species, also exhibiting a high degree of
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
; the male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear
coverts
A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.
Ear coverts
The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...
, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous, as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. Six subspecies groups are recognized: three larger and darker forms from Tasmania, Flinders and King Island respectively, and three smaller and paler forms from mainland Australia and Kangaroo Island.
Like other fairywrens, the superb fairywren is notable for several peculiar behavioural characteristics; the birds are socially
monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
and sexually
promiscuous
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
, meaning that although they form pairs between one male and one female, each partner will mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings. Male wrens pluck yellow petals and display them to females as part of a courtship display.
The superb fairywren can be found in almost any area that has at least a little dense undergrowth for shelter, including grasslands with scattered shrubs, moderately thick forest, woodland, heaths, and domestic
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
s. It has adapted well to the urban environment and is common in suburban Sydney,
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. The superb fairywren eats mostly insects and supplements its diet with seeds.
The superb fairywren was named 'Australian Bird of the Year' for 2021, after a survey conducted by
Birdlife Australia
BirdLife Australia is a not-for-profit organisation advocating for native birds and the conservation of their habitats across Australia.
BirdLife Australia is the trading name of the company limited by guarantee formed through the merger of tw ...
saw the species narrowly defeat the
tawny frogmouth
The tawny frogmouth (''Podargus strigoides'') is a species of frogmouth native to the Australian mainland and Tasmania and found throughout. It is a big-headed, stocky bird often mistaken for an owl due to its nocturnal habits and similar colouri ...
with a margin of 666 votes (over 400,000 votes were cast in total).
Taxonomy and systematics
The superb fairywren is one of eleven species of the
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
''
Malurus'', commonly known as fairywrens, found in Australia and lowland
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. Within the genus, the superb fairywren's closest relative is the
splendid fairywren; these two "blue wrens" are also related to the
purple-crowned fairywren
The purple-crowned fairywren (''Malurus coronatus'') is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is the largest of the eleven species in the genus '' Malurus'' and is endemic to northern Australia. The species name is d ...
of northwestern Australia.
William Anderson, surgeon and
naturalist
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
on
Captain James Cook's third voyage, collected the first superb fairywren specimen in 1777 while traveling off the coast of eastern Tasmania, in
Bruny Island
Bruny Island is a coastal island of Tasmania, Australia, located at the mouths of the Derwent River and Huon River estuaries on Storm Bay on the Tasman Sea, south of Hobart. The island is separated from the mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux C ...
's
Adventure Bay. He classified it in the genus ''
Motacilla'' because its tail reminded him of the European
wagtail
Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The common name and genus name are derived from their characteristic tail pumping behaviour. Together with the pipits and longclaws they form ...
s. Anderson did not live to publish his findings, although his assistant William Ellis described the bird in 1782. The genus ''Malurus'' was later described by
Louis Pierre Vieillot
Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist.
Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected ...
in 1816, giving the bird its current scientific name.
Shortly after the
First Fleet
The First Fleet were eleven British ships which transported a group of settlers to mainland Australia, marking the beginning of the History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation of Australia. It consisted of two Royal Navy vessel ...
's arrival at
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, commonly known as Sydney Harbour, is a natural harbour on the east coast of Australia, around which Sydney was built. It consists of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta ...
, Sydney, the bird gained the common name superb warbler. In the 1920s came common names ''wren'' and ''wren-warbler''—both from its similarity to the European
wren
Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...
—and ''fairywren''. The bird has also been called Mormon wren, a reference to observations of one blue-
plumage
Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...
d bird accompanied by many brown-plumaged birds, which were incorrectly assumed to be all female. The
Ngarrindjeri
The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...
people of the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray; Ngarrindjeri language, Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta language, Yorta Yorta: ''Dhungala'' or ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is List of rivers of Australia, Aust ...
and
Coorong regions call it ''waatji pulyeri'', meaning "little one of the ''waatji'' (lignum) bush", and the
Gunai call it ''deeydgun'', meaning "little bird with long tail". Both it and the
variegated fairywren are known as ''muruduwin'' to the local
Eora
The Eora (; also ''Yura'') are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales. Eora is the name given by the earliest European settlers to a group of Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as ...
and
Darug
The Dharug or Darug people, are a nation of Aboriginal Australian clans, who share ties of kinship, country and culture. In pre-colonial times, they lived as hunters in the region of current day Sydney. The Darug speak one of two dialects o ...
inhabitants of the Sydney basin. Other alternative names for the superb fairywren include the Australian fairywren, blue wren, superb blue fairywren, and superb blue wren.
Like other fairywrens, the superb fairywren is unrelated to the true
wren
Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...
. It was previously classified as a member of the Old World flycatcher family
Muscicapidae
The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...
and later as a member of the warbler family
Sylviidae
Sylviidae is a family of passerine birds that includes the typical warblers ''Sylvia'', and closely related genus '' Curruca'', formerly included in ''Sylvia''. They are found in Eurasia and Africa, with the greatest diversity in the Mediterrane ...
before being placed in the newly recognised
Maluridae
The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...
in 1975. More recently,
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
analysis has shown the family Maluridae to be related to the
Meliphagidae
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...
(
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...
s), and the
Pardalotidae (pardalotes, scrubwrens, thornbills, gerygones and allies) in the large superfamily
Meliphagoidea. To help resolve this a high-quality 1.07‐Gb reference genome was sequenced in 2019.
Subspecies
Six
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
are currently recognized:
*''M. c. cyaneus'' – (
Ellis, 1782): The nominate subspecies, it is found throughout Tasmania.
Birds are larger and darker than the mainland subspecies, with males having a deeper azure blue coloration. Some authorities have also reclassified subspecies ''elizabethae'' and ''samueli'' under ''M. c.'' ''cyaneus''.
*''M. c. samueli'' –
Mathews, 1912: Endemic to
Flinders Island
Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is from Cape Portland, Tasmania, Cape Portl ...
and has males that are of intermediate colour between the King Island and Tasmanian subspecies.
*''M. c. elizabethae'' –
Campbell, AJ, 1901: Originally described as a separate species. Is endemic to
King Island Males have a deeper blue colour than Tasmanian birds. King Island birds also have longer
tarsi (lower legs).
*''M. c. cyanochlamys'' –
Sharpe, 1881: Originally described as a separate species. Found on mainland Australia. In general, birds are smaller and paler than those of Tasmania, with Queensland male birds bearing a pale silvery blue crown, ear tufts and mantle.
*''M. c. leggei'' –
Mathews, 1912:
Found in eastern South Australia. Males in breeding plumage differ from those of subspecies ''cyanochlamys'' by having blue tinges on their belly below the chest band and on their wing remiges.
[
*''M. c. ashbyi'' – Mathews, 1912:] Found on Kangaroo Island, and has been separated from the mainland subspecies for around 9000 years. Birds of this subspecies are larger, have narrower bills and darker plumage than birds on nearby mainland South Australia. Females from Kangaroo Island are more uniformly grey in plumage than mainland birds.[
]
Evolutionary history
In his 1982 monograph, Schodde proposed a southern origin for the common ancestor of the superb and splendid fairywrens. At some time in the past it was split into south-western (splendid) and south-eastern (superb) enclaves. As the southwest was drier than the southeast, once conditions were more favourable, the splendid forms were more able to spread into inland areas. In the east, the superb fairywren spread into Tasmania during a glacial period when the sea level was low and the island was connected with the rest of the continent via a land bridge. This gave rise to the subspecies ''cyaneus'' as it became isolated when the sea levels rose. The Bass Strait forms were isolated from Tasmania more recently and so their subspecific status was not maintained. A 2017 genetic study using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found the ancestors of the superb and splendid fairywrens diverged from each other around 4 million years ago, and their common ancestor diverged around 7 million years ago from a lineage that gave rise to the white-shouldered, white-winged and red-backed fairywrens.
Description
The superb fairywren is long and weighs , with males on average slightly larger than females. The average tail length is , among the shortest in the genus. Averaging in subspecies ''cyaneus'' and in subspecies ''cyanochlamys'', the bill is relatively long, narrow and pointed and wider at the base. Wider than it is deep, the bill is similar in shape to those of other birds that feed by probing for or picking insects off their environs.
Like other fairywrens, the superb fairywren is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
, males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue contrasting with black and grey-brown. The brightly coloured crown and ear tufts are prominently featured in breeding displays. The breeding male has a bright-blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle and tail, brown wings, and black throat, eye band, breast and bill. Females, immatures, and non-breeding males are a plain fawn colour with a lighter underbelly and a fawn (females and immatures) or dull greyish blue (males) tail. The bill is brown in females and juveniles and black in males after their first winter. Immature males moult into breeding plumage the first breeding season after hatching, though incomplete moulting sometimes leaves residual brownish plumage that takes another year or two to perfect. Both sexes moult in autumn after breeding, with males assuming an eclipse non-breeding plumage. They moult again into nuptial plumage in winter or spring. Breeding males' blue plumage, particularly the ear-coverts, is highly iridescent
Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear gradually to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstruc ...
because of the flattened and twisted surface of the barbules. The blue plumage also reflects ultraviolet
Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...
light strongly, and so may be even more prominent to other fairywrens, whose colour vision extends into this part of the spectrum
A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
.
Vocalisations
Vocal communication among superb fairywrens is used primarily for communication between birds in a social group and for advertising and mobbing
Mobbing, as a sociological term, refers either to bullying in any context, or specifically to that within the workplace, especially when perpetrated by a group rather than an individual.
Psychological and health effects
Victims of workplace mo ...
, or defending a territory. The basic, or Type I, song is a 1–4 second high-pitched reel consisting of 10–20 short elements per second; it is sung by both males and females. Males also possess a peculiar song-like Type II vocalization, which is given in response to the calls of predatory birds, commonly grey butcherbirds. The purpose of this behaviour, which does not elicit a response from other nearby wrens, remains unknown. It is not a warning call, but in fact gives away the location of the vocalizing male to the predator. It may serve to announce male fitness, but this is far from certain. The superb fairywrens' alarm call is a series of brief sharp ''chit''s, universally given and understood by small birds in response to predators. Females also emit a ''purr'' while incubating. The bird appears to also use vocalisations as a password for its chicks to give it a chance to avoid cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae ( ) family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes ( ). The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals, and anis. The coucals and anis are somet ...
parasites.
Distribution and habitat
The superb fairywren is common throughout most of the relatively wet and fertile south-eastern corner of the continent, from the south-east of South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
(including Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
and Adelaide) and the tip of the Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...
, through all of Victoria, Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, coastal and sub-coastal New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and Queensland, through the Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
area and extending inland – north to the Dawson River and west to Blackall; it is a common bird in the suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
. It is found in wooded areas, generally with plenty of undergrowth, and has also adapted to urban existence and can be found in gardens and urban parks as long as there is an undergrowth of native plants nearby. Lantana (''Lantana camara
''Lantana camara'' (common lantana) is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family (Verbenaceae), native to the American tropics. It is a very adaptable species, which can inhabit a wide variety of ecosystems; once it has been introduced i ...
''), a prolific weed in Australia, has also been beneficial in providing shelter in disturbed areas, as has the introduced and invasive blackberry
BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...
Unlike other fairywrens, it appears to benefit from the urban environment and has out-competed the introduced house sparrow
The house sparrow (''Passer domesticus'') is a bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of and a mass of . Females and young birds are coloured pa ...
in one study on the grounds of the Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
in Canberra. Colonies of wrens can be found in Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney's urbanized centre. It is not found in dense forest nor in alpine environments. Forestry plantations of pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and eucalypts are also unsuitable as they lack undergrowth.
Behaviour
Like all fairywrens, the superb fairywren is an active and restless feeder, particularly on open ground near shelter, but also through the lower foliage. Movement is a series of jaunty hops and bounces, with its balance assisted by a proportionally large tail, which is usually held upright, and rarely still. The short, rounded wings provide good initial lift and are useful for short flights, though not for extended jaunts. During spring and summer, birds are active in bursts through the day and accompany their foraging with song. Insects are numerous and easy to catch, which allows the birds to rest between forays. The group often shelters and rests together during the heat of the day. Food is harder to find during winter and they are required to spend the day foraging continuously.
The superb fairywren is a cooperative breeding
Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group s ...
species, with pairs or groups of 3–5 birds maintaining and defending small territories
A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal.
In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...
year-round. The group consists of a social pair with one or more male or female helper birds that were hatched in the territory, though they may not necessarily be the offspring of the main pair. These birds assist in defending the territory and feeding and rearing the young. Birds in a group roost side-by-side in dense cover as well as engaging in mutual preening.
Major nest predators include Australian magpie
The Australian magpie (''Gymnorhina tibicen'') is a black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea, and introduced to New Zealand, and the Fijian island of Taveuni. Although once considered to be three separate ...
s, butcherbird
Butcherbirds are songbirds closely related to the Australian magpie. Most are found in the genus ''Cracticus'', but the black butcherbird is placed in the monotypic genus ''Melloria''. They are native to Australasia.
Taxonomy
Together with thr ...
s, laughing kookaburra
The laughing kookaburra (''Dacelo novaeguineae'') is a bird in the kingfisher subfamily Halcyoninae. It is a large robust kingfisher with a whitish head and a brown eye-stripe. The upperparts are mostly dark brown but there is a mottled light ...
, currawongs, crow
A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...
s and raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...
s, shrike-thrushes as well as introduced mammals such as the red fox
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus ...
, cat
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
and black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
. Superb fairywrens may utilise a 'rodent-run' display to distract predators from nests with young birds. The head, neck and tail are lowered, wings held out and feathers fluffed as the bird runs rapidly and voices a continuous alarm call. A field study in Canberra found that superb fairywrens that lived in areas frequented by noisy miners recognised miner alarm calls and took flight, and had learnt to ignore their non-alarm calls, while those that live in areas not frequented by noisy miners did not respond to miner alarm calls. This suggests the species has adapted and learned to discriminate and respond to another species' vocalisations.
Courtship
Several courtship displays by superb fairywren males have been recorded. The 'sea horse flight', named for its seahorse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine Osteichthyes, bony fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meanin ...
-like undulations, is one such display. During this exaggerated flight, the male—with his neck extended and his head feathers erect—tilts his body from horizontal to vertical, and descends slowly and springs upwards by rapidly beating his wings after alighting on the ground. The 'face fan' display may be seen as a part of aggressive or sexual display behaviours; it involves the flaring of the blue ear tufts by erecting the feathers.
During the reproductive season, males of this and other fairywren species pluck yellow petals, which contrast with their plumage, and show them to female fairywrens. The petals often form part of a courtship display and are presented to a female in the male fairywren's own or another territory. Males sometimes show petals to females in other territories even outside the breeding season, presumably to promote themselves. Fairywrens are socially monogamous
Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
and sexually promiscuous
Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
: pairs will bond for life, though both males and females will regularly mate with other individuals; a proportion of young will have been fathered by males from outside the group. Young are often raised not by the pair alone, but with other males who also mated with the pair's female assisting.
Breeding
Breeding occurs from spring through to late summer; the nest is a round or domed structure made of loosely woven grasses and spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word ''Wikt:coppe, coppe'', meaning 'spider') is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey ...
s, with an entrance in one side generally close to the ground, under , and in thick vegetation. Two or more broods may be laid in an extended breeding season. A clutch of three or four matte white eggs with reddish-brown splotches and spots, measuring . The eggs are incubated for 14 days, after which they hatch within 24 hours. Newborn chicks are blind, red and featherless, though quickly darken as feathers grow. Their eyes open by day five or six and are fully feathered by day 10. All group members feed and remove fecal sac
A fecal sac (also spelled faecal sac) is a mucous membrane, generally white or clear with a dark end, that surrounds the feces of some species of nestling birds. It allows parent birds to more easily remove Feces, fecal material from the bird n ...
s for 10–14 days. Fledglings are able to feed themselves by day 40 but remain in the family group as helpers for a year or more before moving to another group or assuming a dominant position in the original group. In this role they feed and care for subsequent broods and repel cuckoos or predators. Superb fairywrens also commonly play host to the brood parasite Horsfield's bronze cuckoo and, less commonly, the shining bronze cuckoo and fan-tailed cuckoo.
Diet
Superb fairywrens are predominantly insectivorous
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores we ...
. They eat a wide range of small creatures (mostly insects such as ants, grasshoppers, shield bug
Pentatomidae is a family of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera, generally called shield bugs or stink bugs. Pentatomidae is the largest family in the superfamily Pentatomoidea, and contains around 900 genera and over 4700 species.Robert ...
s, flies, weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small – less than in length – and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several fa ...
s and various larvae) as well as small quantities of seeds, flowers, and fruit. Their foraging, termed 'hop-searching', occurs on the ground or in shrubs that are less than two metres high. Because this foraging practice renders them vulnerable to predators, birds tend to stick fairly close to cover and forage in groups. During winter, when food may be scarce, ants are an important 'last resort' food, constituting a much higher proportion of the diet. Nestlings, in contrast to adult birds, are fed a diet of larger items such as caterpillars and grasshoppers.
Cultural depictions
The superb fairywren breeding male is used as an emblem by the Bird Observation & Conservation Australia. On 12 August 1999, a superb fairywren was mistakenly illustrated for an Australia Post
Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...
45c pre-stamped envelope meant to depict a splendid fairywren. Called the blue wren as it was then known, it had previously featured on a 2s.5d. stamp, released in 1964, which was discontinued with the advent of decimal currency.
Notes
Cited text
*
External links
Superb fairywren videos, photos and sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection
Make your garden friendlier for superb fairy-wrens
NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (incl. call)
Meliphagoidea
– Highlighting relationships of Maluridae
The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...
on Tree Of Life Web Project
Fairy-wrens are able to learn alarm calls from other species
''New Scientist'', 12 November 2008
* Superb Fairy-Wren Habitat in Glebe and Forest Lodge – a community based conservation project (2008). Glebe Society Inc., PO Box 100, Glebe, NSW 2037, Australia. https://web.archive.org/web/20110219105831/http://glebesociety.org.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/file/BlueWrens_Report.pdf
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