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Australian Wildlife

  White-winged Fairy-wren (Malurus leucopterus)





White-winged Fairy-wren | Malurus leucopterus photo
White-winged Fairy-wren, Coolmunda Dam, S. Queensland, Australia

Image by www.aviceda.org - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







BIRD FACTS

Description
Small fairy-wren with a very fine bill. Colours varied. Breeding male dark blue or glossy black, with a striking white patch from shoulder across closest edge of wing to body. Females grey-brown above and off white below with a dull blue-grey tail. Non-breeding males resemble females, but have a bluer tail and darker bill. Length to 13 cm; wingspan to 15 cm.

A very gregarious fairy-wren appearing in small flocks of up to 12 birds. They forage for insects, mainly beetles, by hop-searching on the ground and in low shrubs.

Author credit: Alexis Tindall / South Australian Museum

Habitat
Shrublands and grasslands in arid, semi-arid and coastal areas, as well as floodplains, wetlands or periodically-flooded lake beds.

Food
Insectivore

Range
Across Australia

distribution map showing range of Malurus leucopterus in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Maluridae
Genus:Malurus
Species:leucopterus
Common Name:White-winged Fairy-wren

Relatives in same Genus
  Lovely Fairy-wren (M. amabilis)
  Superb Fairy-wren (M. cyaneus)
  Red-winged Fairy-wren (M. elegans)
  Variegated Fairy-wren (M. lamberti)
  Red-backed Fairy-wren (M. melanocephalus)
  Splendid Fairy-wren (M. splendens)