I spent a little bit of time down by river late this afternoon. From my car window I was able to get a few shots of some of the local bird life. These are Superb Fairywrens, Malurus cyaneus. Despite the cocked tail and the word wren being in the name, they are quite unrelated to the wrens of the northern hemisphere. These belong to the family Muridae. The genus Malurus contains 11 species that are only found in Australia and New Guinea.
The Superb Fairywren is mostly insectivorous but will also eat some seeds. They also seem to enjoy the occasional bit of cheese that I've thrown to them :-) They can be found through much of south eastern Australia as well as here in island state of Tasmania. They have adapted well to modern life and are often found in suburban gardens.
The males have superb blue and black breeding plumage. However, in the non-breeding plumage both males and females are basically browns and greys. You can still tell them apart as the males have blue tail feathers and the female has a red streak through the eye. I've included two older shots at the end to show the males in their spectacular breeding plumage.
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Non breeding male
Female and non breeding male
Non breeding male
Non breeding male
Non breeding male - Ready for take off!
Male in breeding plumage
Breeding male and female
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