Blue-breasted Fairywren Malurus pulcherrimus Scientific name definitions

13·5–15 cm; 9–10 g. Male in Bright plumage has crown, upper back and ear-tufts violet-cobalt, lores, nape, collar and lower back black, narrow blue orbital ring; scapulars  rufous, upperwing deep grey-brown, tail dull blue with narrow white tip; throat and breast  dark indigo, belly greyish-white; iris dark brown; bill black; legs grey-brown. Female is grey-brown above, with rufous lores and feathers around eye, creamy white below ; bare parts as male, except that bill is dark brown. Male in Dull plumage is like female, but retains black bill and lores and has trace of blue on face and around eye. Immature resembles female; male shows black in lores at 3 months of age.

SW & S Australia in diagonal belt from S Western Australia E to extreme SW South Australia and, disjunctly, Eyre Peninsula.

Tall sand-plain heath and eucalypt woodland (Eucalyptus wandoo) with adequate understorey.

Insectivorous; eats beetles (Coleoptera), including weevils (Curculionidae), also flies (Diptera), ants and wasps (Hymenoptera), and caterpillars. Lives in groups of 2–4 adults, often with some younger individuals; group territory c. 2·5 ha. Forages on the ground in winter months, and in low shrubs through spring and summer; reluctant to fly.

Song  a rather quiet reel, like that of others in “chestnut-shouldered group”. Contact call a short high-pitched “see”; alarm a weak “tsit”, also a churring rattle.

Aug–Jan; female lays 1–4 clutches per year, renests after failure, may raise two broods. Socially monogamous but probably sexually promiscuous (as congeners); remains paired throughout year. Co-operative breeder, frequently with helpers, usually progeny from previous years. Nest built by female, an oval domed structure with side entrance, made from grass, leaves and small twigs, lined with fine grass, plant down, feathers and fur, placed generally low down (average c. 59 cm above ground) in shrub, tree, dense tangle or accumulated litter; later nests sited higher up than early ones. Clutch 2–3 eggs  ; incubation by female, period 14–15 days; nestlings fed by all group-members, leave nest at 10–12 days; fledglings remain hidden for a week, then travel with foraging group, fed by parents and helpers for c. 1 month; young remain with family group after independence, may attend later nestings by parents. Nests parasitized by Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites basalis).

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Locally fairly common; appears able to survive widespread clearance of habitat for wheat-growing if sufficient patches of suitable vegetation remain. Current breeding productivity little above replacement levels, and may worsen if climate becomes drier. Based on measurements of global forest cover change from 2000 to 2012 (2 Hansen, M. C., P. V. Potapov, R. Moore, M. Hancher, S. A. Turubanova, A. Tyukavina, D. Thau, S. V. Stehman, S. J. Goetz, T. R. Loveland, A. Kommareddy, A. Egorov, L. P. Chini, C. O. Justice, and J. R. G. Townshend (2013). High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342(6160):850–853. Close ), this species is estimated to have lost a third (33%) of its habitat within its distribution over three generations (21 years) (3 Tracewski, L., S. H. M. Butchart, M. Di Marco, G. F. Ficetola, C. Rondinini, A. Symes, H. Wheatley, A. E. Beresford, and G. M. Buchanan (2016). Toward quantification of the impact of 21st-century deforestation on the extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates. Conservation Biology 30(5):1070–1079. Close ), suggesting that it should be considered globally Vulnerable. It is not thought to be of conservation concern the national level in Australia (4 Garnett, S. T., J. K. Szabo, and G. Dutson (2011). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. Close ).