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  Profile

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  In flight

Songbirds

Variegated Fairywren

Malurus lamberti

• rare
• 42 km/h
• Least Concern

Males have rich purple-blue crowns and chestnut shoulders, and cheat on mates at extraordinary rates.

Population

Not numerically assessed by IUCN/BirdLife; described qualitatively as common and widespread within its (post-2018) eastern Australian range

Habitat

Dense scrubby understorey, heath, and dry woodland/forest with thick low cover (typically under ~2m) for nesting, foraging, and shelter

Fun fact

Breeding male Variegated Fairywrens pluck bright yellow flower petals and display them to females as part of an elaborate courtship ritual, and their blue plumage reflects ultraviolet light likely visible to other fairywrens.

Range

Eastern Australia, east of the Great Dividing Range (Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia); populations across central, northern and western Australia were split off in 2018 as the separate Purple-backed Fairywren (Malurus assimilis) following molecular analysis confirming the Great Dividing Range as a genetic barrier

Diet

Primarily insectivorous — ants, grasshoppers, bugs, flies, weevils and various larvae, with a small amount of seeds

Size

0.145 m

Wingspan

0.17 m

Lifespan

5 years