BetterBirding
Bird guideVariegated Fairywren

Male wrens pluck yellow petals and display them to females as part of a courtship display.

Spot this speciesRead on Wikipedia
⚠️Not listed
🌿Endemic to Australia
🍃Indigenous: Ninin, Wididjirr'wididjirr, A-Wirdijirrwirdijirr, Yundiyundi, Wurramagu, Narangem, Jitjjiwk

At a glance

FamilyFairywrens
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatThis species is found in coastal New South Wales and Southeast Queensland, where it prefers wet and dense vegetation.
Best timeMost reliable in New South Wales from August to January.

Sounds

Sound sample
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Recorded by Marc Anderson

Range map

Range map

200approx hotspots
154668approx records
5states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

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

The tail is very long with small pale tips sometimes visible. Females are grayish birds with pale fronts, long blue tails, and very dark red patch between the eye and the bill (lores). This species is found in coastal New South Wales and Southeast Queensland, where it prefers wet and dense vegetation. In southeast Queensland it is believed occur mainly east of the Great Dividing Range, so take care when in this area to distinguish from Purple-backed Fairywren when close to the divide.

Behavior

Breeding male has a bright pale-blue helmet, black breast, royal-blue back and chestnut shoulders.

Gallery

Regional timing

Queensland
Peak: May to November61,260 records
Western Australia
Peak: June to September5,971 records
Northern Territory
Peak: June to August2,465 records
South Australia
Peak: September to October6,778 records
New South Wales
Peak: August to January75,837 records
Victoria
Peak: September to November1,908 records
Australian Capital Territory
Peak: February to March415 records

Commonly confused with

Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendensNonbreeding 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.→Red-backed FairywrenMalurus melanocephalusNonbreeding males and females are extremely similar—both are pale brownish birds with brown tails. Their plumage has a warmer, browner tone than female Superb Fairywren. Red-backed Fairywrens are found in grasslands, swamps, and areas with long grass around tropical northern Australia and around the east coast into northern New South Wales.→Red-winged FairywrenMalurus elegansSmall bird with a very long blue-gray tail held cocked, found in wet areas with dense vegetation in southwestern Western Australia.→
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