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16

Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (Stipiturus ruficeps) Size: 12-13 cm; tail length 6.5-7.5 cm Weight: 4-7 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 Although, by virtue of their long, wispy tail, not the shortest birds in Australia by length, Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens are the smallest by body weight. The plumage of Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Rufous-crowned Emu-wrenss have blue feathers around their eyes and a blue "bib", females don't. Otherwise the two sexes are identical. The top of the head, from frons to the nape of the neck, is rufous, while the ear coverts are dark-grey with some white streaking. The front is warm buff, while the back and wing coverts are brown, boldly streaked dark-grey. The long, wispy tail is brown. Both sexes have dark irises. The males' bill is black, while females have a grey bill with a darker tip. The legs and feet are the colour of skin. Juveniles closely resemble adults with slightly paler colours. Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens are unusual in that their juveniles are already dimorphic. Juvenile males have a faint-blue bib but no blue around the eyes, while juvenile females don't have a bib.

Taxonomy, classification See Rufous-crowned Emu-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 Rufous-crowned Emu-wren is available HERE . Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens are endemic to Australia. Their overall distribution is patchy. Their range extends from the North-west Cape via the Pilbara and central WA into the southern half of the NT and on to far-western QLD, up to about Opalton, WA. There are no recent reports from northern SA, which was formerly part of their range. Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens have a strong preference for habitats dominated by tall, dense, unburnt Triodia ("Spinifex") grass. They can be found both in plains and along rocky hill slopes, where the Triodia ("Spinifex") grass is mixed in with low shrubs.

Sightings Click here for sighting information M. Eaton reports finding a family clan of Rufous-crowned Emu-wrens near Opalton, QLD, in June 2021 and again in August 2022. All sighting, photographic and audio information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-frontal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Lateral view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, June 2021]

Dorsal view of a male Rufous-crowned Emu-wren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Opalton, QLD, August 2022]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

rucwren_me_20210604.m4a

(W QLD)

Various

© MD

More Rufous-crowned Emu-wren sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 14 September 2022, 23:11 +00:00