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Lovely Fairy-wren (Malurus amabilis) Alternate name(s): "Lovely Wren" Size: 11.5-13 cm Body mass: 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-winged 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 Grey Grasswren Black 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. M. Eaton found Lovely Fairy-wrens at Julatten, QLD, in August 2023 and again in June 2024. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting Lovely Fairy-wrens at Wangetti Falls, QLD, in July 2020. Others were found at Julatten, QLD, in July 2024.

Photos

ADULT

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]

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]

Close-up near-lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren looking sideways (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2024]

Lateral view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2024]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2024]

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 looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Julatten, QLD, June 2024]

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]

Close-up near-lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren issuing its call (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2024]

Lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2024]

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

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Dec

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 12 - 14 days

Fledging age: ca. 13 days

The period listed in the table is the core breeding season for Lovely Fairy-wrens, but they can nest basically all year round.

Nest building: Female

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Family & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Dome

Material: Grass stems, bark strips, leaf fragments; feather lining

Height above ground: <1 m

The following photo sequence by M. Eaton shows a female Lovely Fairy-wren building a nest. 8 days after the first observation the nest was finished. Yet again 2 days later, 3 eggs had been laid and only then the female started incubating. The male, the lazy bugger, only showed up once to have a look, but did not contribute at all to the nest-building effort.

Ventral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren working on the interior design of its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren working on its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Lateral view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren working on its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Dorsal view of a female Lovely Fairy-wren working on its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Lateral view of a male Lovely Fairy-wren coming on a "tour of inspection" (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Frontal view of a finished Lovely Fairy-wren nest (8 days after the photos shown above were taken; note that dead leaves were used primarily as part of the base; note also the relatively exposed location (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Frontal view of an incubating female Lovely Fairy-wren in its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Abbatoir Swamp, near Julatten, QLD, October 2024]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 16 x 12 mm

Colour: Light cream, with tiny light-brown specks

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Family clan

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