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 LC    White-winged Fairy-wren* Id (Atlas): 535
    Malurus leucopterus Endemic

Description (10)
Image of White-winged Fairy-wren (Female)
 

Other Names (World)
White-winged Fairy-wren, White-winged Fairywren, White-winged Superb Warbler, Black-and-White Wren, Black-and-White Fairy-wren, White-backed Wren, White-backed Fairy-wren, Blue-and-White Wren (leuconotus), Blue-and-White Fairy-wren (leuconotus)

Family
Maluridae (Fairy-wrens)

Size
12 - 13 cm

First Described (Guide)
Dumont, 1824

Derivation
Mal-ür'-us - Gk, malacos, soft; Gk, oura, tail: leuc-op'-ter-us - Gk, leucos, white: Gk, pteron, wing

Abundance (Guide)
C

Common. Locally nomadic.

Habitat
Low shrublands, especialy chenopod and samphire, thickets of lignum, grasslands, heathlands and coastal scrubs.

Range (Guide)
Australia (B).

Image of Range of White-winged Fairy-wren
 
Most of interior and western Australia.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Probably secure.

See also EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna for subspecies edouardi (Barrow Island, WA) and EPBC Act List of Threatened Fauna for subspecies leucopterus (Dirk Hartog Island, WA).

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually in small groups, with brown-plumaged birds dominating.

Food
Insects, mainly beetles. Occasionally seeds and fruit.

Voice
An undulating, musical, reeling trill, 'chirr-irr-irr-iririt-chirr-irririt-iriririrrit-chirrir-irritirrit...'.



Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (24)...)

 
White-winged Fairywren (Malurus leucopterus) [XC859935]
     by id from Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia (song and call)

 
White-winged Fairywren (Malurus leucopterus) [XC407805]
     by Frank Lambert from nr Lyndhurst, South Australia, Australia (song)

Breeding Season (Guide)
July - December.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
Domed, loosely built, with a side-entrance, composed of soft dry grass, lined with finer grass and a few feathers, placed near the ground in a low bush.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 4; white, spotted with red-brown at the larger end; long-oval; about 15 x 11 mm. Incubation: about 13 days; by female.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 10 - 11 days.

Subspecies
Protein evidence indicates that closest allies are Red-backed Fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus) and White-shouldered Fairy-wren (Malurus alboscapulatus) and the three constitute the "bicoloured group". DNA evidence suggests that the two black-and-white island forms, i.e. nominate subspecies and edouardi, are not each other's closest relative. Further study is required. Possible genetic variation within subspecies leuconotus requires further investigation.

The following 3 subspecies are recognised:

  • leucopterus Dumont, 1824   -  Dirk Hartog Island, WA.
  • leuconotus Gould, 1865   -  Across mainland Australia from inland Qld, New South Wales and north-western Vic., to mid-coastal WA.
  • edouardi Campbell, AJ, 1901   -  Barrow Island, WA.



References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9


Files:
JPG files for White-winged Fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus) - 10 filesMP3 files for White-winged Fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus) - 1 files


More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the White-winged Fairy-wren see... Show Articles BirdLife International Species Factsheet.


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