What is a superb fairywren?
The superb fairywren is a tiny songbird of southeastern Australia. Breeding males are famous for their brilliant blue and black plumage, while females and young are brown.
Superb fairywrens weigh only about ten grams. They hop through gardens, parks and bushland, holding their long tails upright and feeding on insects.
They live in groups made up of a breeding pair and helpers, usually sons from earlier broods, which help feed the chicks.
Surprising behaviour
Although pairs stay together, many chicks are fathered by males from other groups. Males sometimes carry pink or purple petals to females as part of courtship.
Females teach their eggs a secret password call before they hatch. Chicks use it when begging, helping parents spot cuckoo chicks.
Fairywrens are common in suburban gardens and parks with dense shrubs, which give them shelter from predators such as cats and currawongs. Planting native shrubs and reducing pesticide use helps them thrive. Males moult into dull brown plumage outside the breeding season, but older males may keep some blue all year.
Did You Know?
Superb fairywrens are often called blue wrens by Australians.