ID Fairywrens
Australia is home to ten species of fairywren. This guide helps you tell them apart using simple visual features, including head colour, tail shape and markings.
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Blue-breasted Fairywren
Male stands out with its violet head, bluey-back breast and chestnut back. Female has a chestnut eye-ring and blue-grey tail.
Lovely Fairywren
Male has a silvery-blue head and large white tips on his tail. Female also has large white tips on her tail and a white eye ring surrounded by a blue head and back.
Purple-backed Fairywren
Male has a blue head and cheek patches, a chestnut shoulder and purple back. Female has a dark tan mask across her eye and a white underbody.
Purple-crowned Fairywren
Male has a purple and black head (crown) and a black mask on his face. Female has a blue tail and a chestnut eye patch.
Red-backed Fairywren
Male’s body is mostly black with an orangey-red back. Female has a soft red eye-ring and a brown wing. This fairywren has a shorter tail than the other species.
Red-winged Fairywren
Male has a chestnut shoulder and a long dusky blue tail. His head and breast are different shades of blue. The female has a lighter dusky blue tail, a chestnut eye-ring and a dark bill.
Splendid Fairywren
Male’s body are different shades of blue, with a bright blue breast. Female has a dull blue tail and a red eye-ring and bill.
Superb Fairywren
Male has a pale blue head and back patch with a deep blue-black breast. Female has a red eye-ring and bill.
Variegated Fairywren
Male has a bright blue head, black breast and bright chestnut shoulders. Female has a grey-brown tail with a blue ting and a chestnut eye-ring.
White-winged Fairywren
Male has a dark blue or glossy black body with a white wing. Female has no markings on her face and a soft blue-grey tail.
Podcast episodes
Learn more about fairywrens in these Weekend Birder episodes: