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16

Lovely Fairy-wren (Malurus amabilis) Alternate name(s): "Lovely Wren" Size: 11.5-13 cm Weight: 9-15 g

Australia: Family Group 16 Family Group 16 Table Purple-crowned Fairy-wren White-winged Fairy-wren Splendid Fairy-wren Superb Fairy-wren Variegated Fairy-wren Purple-backed Fairy-wren Blue-breasted Fairy-wren Lovely Fairy-wren Red-wingeded Fairy-wren Red-backed Fairy-wren Southern Emu-wren Rufous-crowned Emu-wren Carpentarian Grasswren Eyrean Grasswren Striated Grasswren Thick-billed Grasswren Western Grasswren Dusky Grasswren Kalkadoon Grasswren Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Lovely Fairy-wrens are tiny birds with relatively long tails. Like all other Australian fairy-wren species, their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. In addition, malesbreeding and eclipse plumages. Male Lovely Fairy-wrens in breeding plumage have black lores, throats and breasts, off-white bellies and vents, blue eye rings, ear coverts and caps, with reddish-brown wing coverts and dark-brown flight feathers. The tail is dark-blue. The bill is black, the legs and feet are greyish-pink. Female Lovely Fairy-wrens have a white front, white lores and eye-rings and an otherwise blue head and upperparts, except the wings which are similar to non-breeding males'. The ear coverts are a lighter shade of blue than the rest of the head. Non-breeding males resemble females, except they have broader rufous fringes on their wing feathers. All Lovely Fairy-wrens have tails that are shorter than those of other fairy-wren species, with wide white margins around the outside (outer edges and tips). The irises are dark. The slightly downcurved bill is black; legs and feet are greyish-pink. Juveniles resemble females, only with more dusky upperparts.

Taxonomy, classification See Lovely Fairy-wren at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Lovely Fairy-wren is available HERE . Lovely Fairy-wrens are endemic to Australia. They populate the tip of Cape York peninsula, the western coastal fringe on the Gulf of Carpentaria to about Aurukun, QLD, and the eastern coastal fringe as far southwards as Townsville, QLD. Lovely Fairy-wrens have a preference for the margins of rainforest and also mangrove, such as rank grassland and shrubs.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a Lovely Fairy-wren at Iron Range NP, QLD, in December 2018. In August 2023, M. Eaton found a pair of Lovely Fairy-wrens at Julatten, QLD. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting Lovely Fairy-wrens at Wangetti Falls, QLD, in July 2020.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Frontal view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

Near-frontal view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Iron Range NP, QLD, December 2018]

Lateral view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

Lateral view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wangetti Falls, QLD, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wangetti Falls, QLD, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of two female Lovely Fairy-wrens (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wangetti Falls, QLD, July 2020]

Near-lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wangetti Falls, QLD, July 2020]

Lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wangetti Falls, QLD, July 2020]

Lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

PAIR

Frontal view of a pair of Lovely Fairy-wrens, male in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

Frontal/lateral view of a pair of Lovely Fairy-wrens, male in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, August 2023]

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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