Lovely Fairywren
Malurus amabilis
A small bird with a long blue and white tail that is held cocked. Tail is much shorter than that of Variegated Fairywren. Breeding male has a pale blue helmet, brownish wings, and a white belly. Females and nonbreeding males are similar to each other: they are completely white underneath (all the way up to the chin) with blue back, crown, and cheeks. They have white eye rings and white in front of their eyes, giving them a spectacled appearance. This species is typically found on the edges of rainforests, mangroves, and dense vegetation in coastal far northern Queensland, where it is the only "blue" fairywren.
识别特征
Like other fairywrens, the lovely fairywren is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism, males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue and chestnut contrasting with black and grey-brown. The brightly coloured crown and ear tufts are prominently featured in breeding displays. The male in breeding plumage has striking azure blue ear coverts, crown and upper back, a black throat and nape, chestnut shoulders and a white-tipped blue tail. The wings are black and the belly white. The female has smoky blue upperparts and tail, with turquoise ear tufts, and dark grey wings, and white below. Both sexes have black bills, brown eyes and flesh-grey feet. Immature birds resemble females but have brown bills.
分类信息
It is one of twelve species of the genus Malurus, commonly known as fairywrens, found in Australia and lowland New Guinea. Within the genus it belongs to a group of five very similar species known collectively as chestnut-shouldered fairywrens. The other four species are the variegated fairywren, purple-backed fairywren, red-winged fairywren, and the blue-breasted fairywren. A 2011 analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found that the lovely fairywren is the sister taxon of the Purple-backed fairywren.<p>The lovely fairywren was first described by the ornithologist John Gould in 1852, from a male specimen collected by Captain Owen Stanley in Cape York. Gould expected that a female would resemble that of a red-winged fairywren, and consequently described female specimens collected by John Jardine as a new species, Malurus hypoleucos. The generic name Malurus is from the Greek malos (soft) and oura (tail), while the specific epithet comes from the Latin adjective ămābǐlis, meaning lovely. Lovely fairywren has been designated as its official name by the IOU. Other names for the species include lovely fairy-wren.
- 学名
- Malurus amabilis
- 命名信息
- Gould, 1852
- 目
- Passeriformes
- 科
- Maluridae
- 属
- Malurus
分布与栖息地
- 迁徙
- Resident species
行为
The lovely fairywren is insectivorous and eats several types of insects, including caterpillars.<p>The lovely fairywren is brood-parasitized by the brush cuckoo.
保护状况
- 种群趋势
- stable
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Superb Starling
Lamprotornis superbus
A chunky, short-tailed, colorful savanna starling. Note the white chest band, white undertail, and white patch on the underwing, conspicuous in flight. Immatures have a dark eye and lack a breast band, but are usually associated with adults. Found in a variety of dry or moderately moist habitats including savanna, woodland, thorn scrub, and villages, usually in small flocks, sometimes with other species of starlings. Similar to Hildebrandt’s and Shelley’s Starlings, but easily separated by the white breast band. The calls include a variety of scolds and squeals.
Kaempfer's Tody-Tyrant
Hemitriccus kaempferi
Small, olive-colored flycatcher with distinct yellow wing edges. Has a dark olive back and yellow underparts. Note the buffy lores. Inhabits lowland humid forests and secondary forest with dense understory, often near streams. Song is a repetition of high-pitched “kuít-kuít” notes.
Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise
Diphyllodes respublica
A fairly small bird of foothill forest on Waigeo and Batanta islands. Dark blue feet and strange pale blue skin on the top of the head divided by thin, black lines. Male has bottle green chest, red back and yellow on the back of the neck, all or which it can erect into elaborate ornamentation during the display at a court on the ground. Remarkable flattened, curly tail feathers reflect blue. The female is brown above with rufous in the wing and barred below. Unmistakable in range. Male gives a series of loud, downslurred “piuu!” calls, increasing in volume.
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