Superb Fairy Wren
The Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus), also known as Superb Blue-wren or colloquially as Blue wren, is a common and familiar passerine bird of the Maluridae family. Sedentary and territorial, it is found across south-eastern Australia. The species exhibits a high degree of sexual dimorphism; the male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle and tail with a black mask and black or dark blue throat. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. Two subspecies are recognised: the larger and darker Tasmanian form cyaneus and the smaller and paler mainland form cyanochlamys.
Like other fairy-wrens, the Superb Fairy-wren is notable for several peculiar behavioural characteristics; birds are socially monogamous and sexually promiscuous, meaning that although they form pairs between one male and one female, each partner will mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings. Male wrens pluck yellow petals and display them to females as part of a courtship display.
The Superb Fairy-wren can be found in almost any area that has at least a little dense undergrowth for shelter, including grasslands with scattered shrubs, moderately thick forest, woodland, heaths, and domestic gardens. It has adapted well to the urban environment and is common in suburban Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. The Superb Fairy-wren mainly eats insects and supplements its diet with seeds.
The Superb Fairy-wren is common throughout most of the relatively wet and fertile south-eastern corner of the continent, from the south-east of South Australia (including Kangaroo Island and Adelaide) and the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, through all of Victoria, Tasmania, coastal and sub-coastal New South Wales and Queensland, through the Brisbane area and extending inland - north to the Dawson River and west to Blackall; it is a common bird in the suburbs of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. It is found in wooded areas, generally with plenty of undergrowth, and has also adapted to urban existence and can be found in gardens and urban parks as long as there is undergrowth nearby. Lantana (Lantana camara), a prolific weed in Australia, has been beneficial in providing shelter in disturbed areas, as has the introduced and invasive blackberry (Rubus spp.) Unlike other fairy-wrens, it appears to benefit from the urban environment and has out-competed the introduced House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) in one study on the grounds of the Australian National University in Canberra. Colonies of wrens can be found in Hyde Park and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney's urbanized centre. It is not found in dense forest nor in alpine environments. Forestry plantations of pine (Pinus spp.) and eucalypts are also unsuitable as they lack undergrowth.