Purple-backed Fairywren
Photo · (c) Kym Nicolson, some rights reserved (CC BY)

BirdUp · Species

Purple-backed Fairywren

Malurus assimilisNorth, 1901

Endemic
Order
PASSERIFORMES
Family
Maluridae
Genus
Malurus
Commonness
Endemic
Best seen
Year-round

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

The purple-backed fairywren is a fairywren that is native to Australia. Described by Alfred John North in 1901, it has four recognised subspecies. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage. Distributed over much of the Australian continent, the purple-backed fairywren is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

02 · Where

Where to find it

Breeding range
Australia (except south-west, north-east and south-east and Tasmania)

03 · When

When to look

Months this species is recorded across its Australian range.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

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