How to identify fairywrens

Bird ID

14 Apr

5 minute read

This ID guide is for Australia’s ten fairywren species.
(Lovely, Purple-backed and Red-winged coming soon)

Blue-breasted Fairywren

Male stands out with its bluey-back breast and chestnut back.
Female has a chestnut eye-ring and blue-grey tail.
Lives in south-west WA and the Eyre Peninsula in SA.

Purple-crowned Fairywren

Male has a purple crown with a black centre. He also has a black mask on his face and cheek. The female has a chestnut patch under her eye and a blue tail.
Lives in a few small patches of Northern Australia.

Red-backed Fairywren

Male is mostly black with an orange-red back and has a shorter tail than other fairywrens. Female has a soft red eye-ring and a brown wing.
Lives in Northern Australia and is Australia’s smallest fairywren.

Splendid Fairywren

Different from the others, with its black and white appearance. Look out for its white back, white crown, white upper breast and strongly forked tail with long outer tail feathers.
Lives in arid areas of Australia.

Superb Fairywren

Male has a pale blue head and back patch and a deep blue-black breast. Female has a red eye-ring and bill.
Commonly found in south-eastern Australia.

Variegated Fairywren

Male has a bright blue head and chestnut shoulders, with a black breast. Female has a chestnut eye-ring and a grey-brown tail with a blue tint. Colours may vary depending on the region they live in.
Lives along the coast of NSW and southern QLD.

White-winged Fairywren

Male has a white wing and a dark blue or glossy black body (depending on the region he lives in). Female has no markings on face and a soft blue-grey tail.
Lives in open and arid country across most of Australia.