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Lovely Fairy-wren
(Malurus amabilis)
: "Lovely Wren"
Size: 11.5-13 cm
Weight: 9-15 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Lovely
Fairy-wren at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
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The global distribution of the Lovely Fairy-wren is available
HERE
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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.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting a Lovely Fairy-wren
at Iron Range NP, QLD, in December 2018.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has been kindly contributed by B. Hensen.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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BREEDING |
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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 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]
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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
