/
A small bird with a long blue tail that is held cocked.
Not listed
Endemic to Australia
Indigenous: Yundiyundi
At a glance
FamilyFairywrens
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatDense shrubs, grassy margins, scrub, hedgerows, and low cover near open feeding patches.
Best timeMost reliable in Western Australia from August to January.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Peter Boesman
Range map
Range map
2939visible hotspots
57632visible records
5states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Nonbreeding males are fairly plain grayish-brown birds with black bills, bright blue tails, and some blue in the folded wing. Females are tan above with a duller blue tail and a reddish bill. Note that the patch between the eye and bill (lores) on females is a fraction paler than the bill (in Purple-backed Fairywren the lores are much darker than the bill). This species is fairly common in arid inland Australia, as well as in southwest Western Australia.
Behavior
Breeding males are almost entirely blue with a strong black line from the bill through the eyes and around the back of the head, a black chest band, and a black rump.
Gallery