The
White-winged Fairywren (
Malurus leucopterus) is a species of
passerineA passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders:...
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
in the fairywren family
MaluridaeThe Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
. It lives in the drier parts of central Australia; from central
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories....
across to
Western AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...
. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked
sexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include colour , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks.-Examples:In...
and one or more males of a social group grow brightly coloured plumage during the breeding season. The female is sandy-brown with light-blue tail feathers; it is smaller than the male, which, in breeding plumage, has a bright-blue body, black bill, and white wings. Younger sexually mature males are almost indistinguishable from females and are often the breeding males. A troop of White-winged Fairywrens in spring and summer has a brightly coloured older male accompanied by small, inconspicuous brown birds, many of which are also male. Three
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
are recognised. Apart from the mainland subspecies, one is found on
Dirk Hartog IslandDirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island...
, and another on
Barrow IslandBarrow Island is a island located northwest off the coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.-Discovery and early history:...
off the coast of Western Australia. Males from these islands have black rather than blue breeding plumage.
The White-winged Fairywren mainly
eats insectsAn insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures.Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers and make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine environments...
, supplementing this with small fruits and leaf buds. It occurs in heathland and arid scrubland, where low shrubs provide cover. Like other fairywrens, it is a
cooperative breedingCooperative breeding is a social system in which individuals help care for young that are not their own. The non-parental care givers may be other reproducing adults, as in the case of lionesses that litter at the same time nursing and caring for their cubs communally; reproductively mature but...
species, and small groups of birds maintain and defend territories year-round. Groups consist of a socially monogamous pair with several helper birds who assist in raising the young. These helpers are
progenyProgeny can refer to:*A genetic descendant or offspring*An academic progeny Other uses*Progeny Linux Systems*Progeny - an episode of the television series Stargate Atlantis...
that have attained sexual maturity but remain with the family group for one or more years after fledging. Although not yet confirmed genetically, the White-winged Fairywren may be promiscuous and assist in raising the young from other pairings. As part of a
courtship displayCourtship display is a special, sometimes ritualised, set of behaviours which some animals perform as part of courtship. Courtship behaviours can include special calls, postures, and movements, and may involve special plumage, bright colours or other ornamentation. A good example is the 'dancing'...
, the male wren plucks petals from flowers and displays them to female birds.
Taxonomy
A specimen of the White-winged Fairywren was first collected by
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
naturalistNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards the observational than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research that is published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, Natural history is the systematic...
s
Jean René Constant QuoyJean René Constant Quoy was a French zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville...
and
Joseph Paul GaimardJoseph Paul Gaimard was a French naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist aboard the ships La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey, and L'Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville between 1826 and 1829...
in September 1818, on
Louis de Freycinet-Biography:He was born at Montélimar, Drôme. In 1793, he entered the French navy. After taking part in several engagements against the British, he joined in 1800, along with his brother , an expedition to explore the south and south-west coasts of Australia...
's voyage around the
Southern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
. The specimen was lost in a shipwreck, but a painting entitled
Mérion leucoptère by
Jacques AragoJacques Etienne Victor Arago was a French littérateur, artist and explorer, author of a "Voyage Round the World"....
survived and led to the bird's description in 1824 by French ornithologist Charles Dumont de Sainte-Croix. The name for the species was derived from the
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
leuko- 'white' and
pteron 'wing'.
Ironically, the original specimen was of the black-plumaged subspecies from
Dirk Hartog IslandDirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island...
, which was not recorded again for 80 years. Meanwhile, the widespread blue-plumaged subspecies was discovered and described as two separate species by
John GouldJohn Gould was an English ornithologist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" was pivotal in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, though they are barely mentioned in Charles Darwin's book,...
in 1865. He called one specimen collected from inland New South Wales the White-winged Superb Warbler,
M. cyanotus, while another, which appeared to have a white back and wings, was described as
M. leuconotus, the White-backed Superb Warbler. It was not until the early 20th century that both of these blue-plumaged mainland forms were found to be of a single species.
George MackGeorge Mack was mainly a museum ornithologist and collector. He migrated from Britain to Western Australia in 1919. He worked at the National Museum of Victoria from 1923 to 1945. During this time, he published a revision of the Australian species of the Fairy-wren genus Malurus...
, ornithologist of the
National Museum of VictoriaMuseum Victoria is an organization which operates three museums in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. These three museums are the Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum...
, considered the specific name
leuconotus to take precedence in his 1934 revision of the genus, and more recent studies have followed suit. The back region between the shoulders is in fact bare, with feathers that arise from the shoulder (scapular) region and sweep inwards in different patterns. This variation confused the early naturalists who described the white-backed and blue-backed species.
The White-winged Fairywren was often referred to as the Blue-and-white Wren, and early observers, such as
Norman FavaloroNorman Joseph Favaloro was an Australian lawyer and amateur ornithologist and oologist. He practiced law in Mildura, Victoria where he lived most of his life. In 1940 he was appointed an Honorary Associate in the Ornithology Department of the National Miseum of Victoria, an association he...
of Victoria, refer to them by this name. However, like other fairywrens, the White-winged Fairywren is unrelated to the true
wrenThe wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are about 80 species of true wrens in about 20 generaThe genus eponymous of the family is Troglodytes....
(family Troglodytidae). It was previously classified as a member of the old world flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and later as a member of the warbler family Sylviidae, before they were placed in the newly recognised
MaluridaeThe Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
in 1975. More recently,
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information...
analysis has shown the Maluridae family to be related to the Meliphagidae (
honeyeaterThe honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s), and the Pardalotidae (pardalotes, scrubwrens, thornbills, gerygones and allies) in the large superfamily
MeliphagoideaMeliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region. The Australian Continent has the largest richness in genera and species.-Systematics:...
.
Within the Maluridae, it is one of 12 species in the genus,
MalurusMalurus is a genus of bird in the Maluridae family.It contains the following species:* White-shouldered Fairywren * Lovely Fairywren * Purple-crowned Fairywren...
. It is most closely related to the Australian Red-backed Fairywren, with which it makes up a
phylogenetic cladeA clade is a term used in modern alpha taxonomy, the scientific classification of living and fossil organisms, to describe a monophyletic group, defined as a group consisting of a single common ancestor and all its descendants.[The term "monophyletic group" is used in this article...]
with the White-shouldered Fairywren of New Guinea as the next closest relative. Termed the
bicoloured wrens by ornithologist
Richard SchoddeRichard Schodde OAM is an Australian botanist and ornithologist.Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide where he received a BSc in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSIRO Division of Land Research and Regional Survey in Papua New Guinea...
, these three species are notable for their lack of head patterns and ear tufts and their uniform black or blue plumage with contrasting shoulder or wing colour; they replace each other geographically across northern Australia and New Guinea.
Subspecies
There are three recognised
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of
Malurus leucopterus. Both black-plumaged forms have been called Black-and-white Fairywren.
- M. l. leuconotus is endemic to mainland Australia and distinct in that it is the only subspecies to have nuptial males that show prominent blue-and-white plumage. The name of this species is derived from the Ancient Greek leukos 'white' and notos 'back'. Birds in the southern parts of its range tend to be smaller than those in the north.
- M. l. leucopterus is restricted to Dirk Hartog Island
Dirk Hartog Island is an island off the Gascoyne coast of Western Australia, within the Shark Bay World Heritage Area. It is about 80 kilometres long and between 3 and 15 kilometres wide and is Western Australia's largest and most western island...
, off the western coast of AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, and nuptial males display black-and-white plumage. This subspecies is the smallest of the three and bears a proportionally longer tail. It was collected again in 1916 by Tom Carter, 98 years after de Freycinet's expedition collected the type specimen.
- M. l. edouardi, like M. l. leucopterus, have black-and-white coloured males, and are found only on Barrow Island
Barrow Island is a island located northwest off the coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.-Discovery and early history:...
, also off the western coast of Australia. Birds of this subspecies are larger than those of M. l. leucopterus but have a shorter tail. The female has a more cinnamon tinge to her plumage than the grey-brown of the other two subspecies. It was described by A.J. Campbell in 1901.
M. l. leucopterus and
M. l. edouardi are both generally smaller than their mainland relatives, and both subspecies tend to have smaller family groups that consist of only one male and one female, with an occasional helper bird. While the island species and mainland species have been found to have similar social structure, breeding pairs on both islands have, on average, smaller clutches, longer incubation times, and fewer live fledglings. Additionally, while
M. l. leuconotus is considered of
Least ConcernLeast Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, nor Near Threatened, nor Conservation Dependent...
by the IUCN due to its widespread occurrence, both island subspecies are considered vulnerable by the Australian government due to their delicate nesting sites that are easily disturbed by human construction and habitation.
Evolutionary history
Both island subspecies are nearer in
genetic distanceGenetic distance includes a variety of parameters used to measure the genetic divergence between species or between populations within a species. Smaller genetic distances indicate a close genetic relationship whereas large genetic distances indicate a more distant genetic relationship...
to mainland populations of
leuconotus than to each other; Dirk Hartog Island is 2 km (1¼ mi) from the mainland while Barrow Island is 56 km (35 mi) from the mainland.
Gene flowIn population genetics, gene flow is the transfer of alleles of genes from one population to another.Migration into or out of a population may be responsible for a marked change in allele frequencies...
between the populations existed at the beginning of the present
interglacialAn interglacial is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature that separates glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene interglacial has persisted since the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,400 years ago....
period, some 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, at a time when sea levels were lower and both islands connected with the mainland.
There are three theories as to how the three races of White-winged Fairywren could have evolved. The first suggests that black-and-white plumage is an ancestral condition and, following separation of the three populations, blue-and-white plumage evolved in the mainland species. The second hypothesis suggests that black-and-white plumage evolved convergently on the two separate islands. The third suggests that black-and-white plumage evolved once from the blue-and-white ancestral condition, and later the mainland species re-evolved blue plumage.
The distribution of the three bi-coloured fairywren species indicates their ancestors lived across New Guinea and northern Australia in a period when sea levels were lower and the two regions were joined by a land bridge. Populations became separated as sea levels rose, and New Guinea birds evolved into the White-shouldered Fairywren, and Australian forms into the Red-backed Fairywren and the arid-adapted White-winged Fairywren.
Description
Measuring 11–13.5 cm (4⅓–5⅓
inAn inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
) in length, White-winged Fairywrens are one of the two smallest species of
Malurus. Males typically weigh between 7.2
gThe gram , ; symbol g, is a unit of mass.Originally defined as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre, and at the temperature of melting ice" , a gram is now defined as one one-thousandth of the SI base unit, the kilogram, or...
(0.25
ozThe ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 30 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
) and 10.9 g (0.38 oz) while females weigh between 6.8 g (0.24 oz) and 11 g (0.39 oz). Averaging in males and in females, the
billThe beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is relatively long, narrow and pointed and wider at the base. Wider than it is deep, the bill is similar in shape to those of other birds that feed by probing for or picking insects off their environs. It is finer and more pointed in this species than in other fairywrens.
Fully mature adults are
sexually dimorphicSexual dimorphism is the systematic difference in form between individuals of different sex in the same species. Examples include colour , size, and the presence or absence of parts of the body used in courtship displays or fights, such as ornamental feathers, horns, antlers or tusks.-Examples:In...
, with the male being larger and differing in colour from the female. The adult female is sandy-brown with a very light blue tail, and a pinkish buff bill. The male in breeding plumage has a black bill, white wings and shoulders, and a wholly
cobalt blueCobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts. The world leading manufacturer of cobalt blue in the 19th century was Blaafarveværket in Norway, led by Benjamin Wegner. Germany was also famous for production- especially the Blaufarbenwerke of Schneeburg...
or black body (depending on subspecies). These contrasting white feathers are especially highlighted in flight and ground displays in breeding season. The male in eclipse plumage resembles the female, though it may be distinguished by its darker bill. Both sexes have long, slender, distinct tails held at an upward angle from their bodies. Measuring around 6.25 cm (2½ in), the tail feathers have a white fringe, which disappears with wear.
Nestlings, fledglings, and juveniles have brown plumage and pink-brown bills with shorter tails than adults. Young males develop blue tail feathers and darker bills by late summer or autumn (following a spring or summer breeding season), while young females develop light blue tails. By the subsequent spring, all males are fertile and have developed cloacal protuberances, which store sperm. In contrast, during the breeding season, fertile females develop oedematous brood patches, which are bare areas on their bellies.
Males entering their second or third year may develop spotty blue and white plumage during the breeding season. By their fourth year, males have assumed their nuptial plumage, where the scapulars, secondary wing coverts, and secondary
flight featherFlight feathers are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges while those on the tail are called rectrices . Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby...
s are white while the rest of their bodies are a vibrant
cobalt blueCobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts. The world leading manufacturer of cobalt blue in the 19th century was Blaafarveværket in Norway, led by Benjamin Wegner. Germany was also famous for production- especially the Blaufarbenwerke of Schneeburg...
. All sexually mature males moult twice a year, once before the breeding season in winter or spring, and again afterwards in autumn; rarely, a male may moult directly from nuptial to nuptial plumage. The breeding males' blue plumage, particularly the ear-coverts, is highly iridescent due to the flattened and twisted surface of the
barbuleBarbules are a part of the tree formed by feathers : the trunk, or axis, being the rachis and the barbs the main boughs, barbules are the secondary branches.Barbules have minute hooks called barbicels for cross-attachment.-References:*...
s. The blue plumage also reflects
ultravioletUltraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
light strongly, and so may be even more prominent to other fairywrens, whose colour vision extends into this part of the
spectrumThe electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
.
Vocalisations
In 1980, Tideman characterised five different patterns of calls among
Malurus leucopterus leuconotus; these were recognised by Pruett and Jones among the island subspecies
M. l. edouardi. The main call is a
reelA reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage.Reel may also refer to:* Reel , a type of dance and its accompanying music* Reel , a Thoroughbred racehorse and prolific broodmare...
made by both sexes in order to establish territory and unify the group. It is a long song of “rising and falling notes” that is first signaled by 3–5
chip notes. Although seemingly weak in sound, the reel carries a long way above the stunted shrubland. A harsh
trit call is often used to establish contact (especially between mothers and their young) and to raise alarm; it is characterised by a series of “loud and abrupt” calls that vary in frequency and intensity. Adults will use a high-pitched peep that may be made intermittently with reels as a contact call to birds that are more distant. Nestlings, fledglings, and females around the nest will use high pips—quiet, high-pitched, and short calls. When used by a mature female, they are mixed with harsh calls. Nestlings may also make “gurgling” noises when they are being fed. The subordinate helpers and feeders may also make this sound.
Distribution and habitat
The White-winged Fairywren is well adapted to dry environments, and
M.l. leuconotus is found throughout
aridA region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
and semi-arid environments between latitudes 19 and 32
oS in mainland Australia. It occupies coastal Western Australia from around
Port HedlandPort Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
south to Perth, and stretches eastwards over to
Mount IsaMount Isa is a city in North-West Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines is one of the most productive single mines in world history—based on combined production of lead, silver, copper and zinc.With a population of...
in Queensland, and along the western parts of the
Great Dividing RangeThe Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the fourth longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
through central Queensland and central western New South Wales, into the northwestern corner of Victoria and the
Eyre PeninsulaEyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
and across the Nullarbor. It commonly cohabits with other species of fairywren, including the Purple-backed Fairywren (
M. lamberti assimilis). White-winged Fairywrens often inhabit
heathlandsA heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly infertile acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae...
or treeless shrublands dominated by saltbush (
AtriplexAtriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
) and small shrubs of the genus
MaireanaMaireana is a genus of around 57 species of perennial shrubs and herbs in the family Amaranthaceae which are endemic to Australia. Species in this genus were formerly classified within the genus Kochia...
, or grasses such as tussock grass (
TriodiaTriodia is a large genus of hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia; they are commonly known as spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. There are currently 65 recognised species Triodia is a large genus of hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia; they are...
) and cane-grass (
ZygochloaZygochloa is a monotypic genus of grass endemic to Australia. Its only species is Zygochloa paradoxa. It occurs in extremely arid areas such as the Simpson Desert.-References:*Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards...
), as well as
floodplain||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional or periodic flooding...
areas vegetated with lignum (
MuehlenbeckiaMuehlenbeckia or the Maidenhair genus is native to the southern hemisphere, especially South America, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand and has been introduced both by birds and cultivation to temperate locales north of the equator. Some are tiny alpine mat-forming plants whereas others...
).
M. l. leucopterus inhabits similar habitats on Dirk Hartog Island and
M. l. edouardi does the same on Barrow Island. The White-winged Fairywren is replaced to the north of its range on mainland Australia by the Red-backed Fairywren.
Behaviour
The usual form of locomotion is hopping, with both feet leaving the ground and landing simultaneously. However, birds may run when performing the
rodent-run display. Its balance is assisted by a proportionally large tail, which is usually held upright and rarely still. The short, rounded wings provide good initial lift and are useful for short flights, though not for extended jaunts.
White-winged Fairywrens live in complex social groups. Clans consist of 2–4 birds, typically one brown or partially blue male and a breeding female.
Nest helpersHelpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents, of either one or both sexes, remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of...
are birds raised in previous years which remain with the family group after fledging and assist in raising young; they may be male that have retained their brown plumage, or female. Birds in a group roost side-by-side in dense cover and engage in mutual preening. Several subgroups live within one territory and make up a clan, which is presided over by one blue (or black) male who assumes breeding plumage. While the blue male is dominant to the rest of the brown and partially blue males within his clan, he nests with only one female and contributes to the raising of only her young. It is unclear whether or not he fathers young in any of the other nests within his territory.
Each clan has a specified area of land that all members contribute to foraging from and defending. Frequently, territory sizes, normally 4–6
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
(10–15
acreThe acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre....
s), are correlated with the abundance of rain and resources in a region; smaller territories occur where insects and resources are plentiful. Additionally, the feeding territories are larger during the winter months when these birds spend much of their time foraging with the entire clan. White-winged Fairywrens occupy much larger territories than other fairywren species.
Observed in this species, the
wing-fluttering display is seen in several situations: females responding, and presumably acquiescing, to male courtship displays, juveniles begging for food, by helpers to older birds, and immature males to senior ones. The fairywren lowers its head and tail, outstretches and quivers its wings and holds its beak open silently.
Both the male and female adult White-winged Fairywren may utilise a
rodent-run display to distract predators from nests with young birds. The head, neck and tail are lowered, the wings are held out and the feathers are fluffed as the bird runs rapidly and voices a continuous alarm call.
Feeding
The White-winged Fairywren is primarily insectivorous; its diet includes small
beetleBeetles are the group of insects with the largest number of known species. They are classified in the order Coleoptera , which contains more described species than in any other order in the animal kingdom, constituting about 25% of all known life-forms...
s,
bug-Biology:* An insect of the order Hemiptera, also known as the "true bugs" .* Any arthropod ; includes insects, but also non-insects such as spiders and centipedes...
s,
mothA moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. The differences between butterflies and moths are more than just taxonomy. Sometimes the names "Rhopalocera" and "Heterocera" are used to formalize the popular distinction...
s, praying mantises,
caterpillarCaterpillars are the larval form of a member of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly phytophagous in food habit, with some species being entomophagous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered pests in agriculture...
s, and smaller insects, including
spiderSpiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s. The larger insects are typically fed to nestlings by the breeding female and her helpers, including the breeding male. Adults and juveniles forage by hopping along the shrubland floor, and may supplement their diets with seeds and fruits of saltbush (
RhagodiaRhagodia is a genus of shrubs native to Australia. They are common in saltmarsh and may be succulent, like other salt tolerant species its members are commonly known as saltbushes.Species include:...
), goosefoot (
ChenopodiumChenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae but...
) and new shoots of
samphireSamphire is a name given to a number of very different edible plants that happen to grow in coastal areas.*Rock samphire, Crithmum maritimum is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in the United Kingdom...
. During spring and summer, birds are active in bursts through the day and accompany their foraging with song. Insects are numerous and easy to catch, which allows the birds to rest between forays. The group often shelters and rests together during the heat of the day. Food is harder to find during winter and they are required to spend the day foraging continuously.
Courtship and breeding
Fairywrens exhibit one of the highest incidences of extra-pair mating, and many
broodBrood may refer to:* Brood, a collective term for offspring* Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents* Brood , the young of a beehive*Brood: to think deeply about something, often in a dark or melancholy manner....
s are brought up a by male who is not the natural father. However, courtship methods among White-winged Fairywrens remain unclear. Blue-plumaged males have been seen outside of their territory and in some cases, carrying pink or purple petals, which among other species advertise the male to neighboring females. In contrast, black-plumaged males on Barrow and Dirk Hartog islands often carry blue petals. While petal-carrying outside of clan territories strongly suggests mating with other females is occurring, further genetic analysis is necessary.
During another courtship display the male bows deeply forward facing the female, reaching the ground with his bill and spreading and flattening his plumage in a near-horizontal plane for up to 20 seconds. In this pose, the white plumage forms a striking white band across his darker plumage.
Breeding females begin to build their nests in the spring and construct domed structures composed of
spiderwebs"Spiderwebs" is a ska punk song written by Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal for No Doubt's third studio album Tragic Kingdom . It was released as the album's second single in 1995 . When "Spiderwebs" reached the radio airwaves in the U.S, it began a revival of the ska genre. The song is a combination...
, fine grasses, thistle-down, and vegetable-down, typically 6–14 cm (2⅓–5½ in) tall and 3–9 mm thick. Each nest has a small entrance on one side and they are normally placed in thick shrubs close to the ground. A
clutchA clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.-Size:Clutch size will differ greatly between species, sometimes even within the same genus. It may also differ within the same species due to many factors including...
of 3–4 eggs is generally laid anywhere from September to January, with
incubationIncubation is the process by which birds hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of sitting on eggs to incubate...
lasting around 14 days. The White-winged Fairywren generally breeds in the spring in the southwest of Western Australia, but is more opportunistic in arid regions of central and northern Australia, with breeding recorded almost any month after a period of rainfall. Incubation is by the breeding female alone, while the breeding male (a brown or blue male) and nest helpers aid in feeding the nestlings and removing their
fecal sacA Fecal sac among birds, and certain species of bird nestlings, is a white, translucent sac containing the feces. It is removed from the nest by parent birds and taken to a clearing where birds of a similar species can tear it open and consume the feces, which birds eat for its inherent nutritional...
s. The newly hatched nestlings are
altricialAltricial, meaning "requiring nourishment", refers to a pattern of growth and development in organisms which are incapable of moving around on their own soon after hatching or being born...
, gaping immediately for food, and developing downy feather tracts and opening their eyes by the third or fourth day. Nestlings remain in the nest for 10–11 days, and fledglings continue to be fed for 3–4 weeks following their departure from the nest. Fledglings then either stay on to help raise the next brood or move to a nearby territory. It is not unusual for a pair bond to hatch and raise two broods in one breeding season, and helpers tend to lessen the stress on the breeding female rather than increase the overall number of feedings. Like other fairywrens, the White-winged Fairywren is particularly prone to
parasitic nestingBrood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood-parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
by the
Horsfield's Bronze-CuckooThe Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family, found from Australia to South-east Asia. The species was previously known by the scientific name of Chalcites basalis....
(
Chalcites basalis). Parasitism by the
Shining Bronze-CuckooThe Shining Bronze-Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family, found in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. It was previously also known as Chalcites lucidus.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24...
(
C. lucidus) and
Black-eared CuckooThe Black-eared Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
(
C. osculans) is rarely recorded.
Predators and threats
Adults and their young may be preyed upon by mammalian predators, such as the
red foxThe red fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora. It has the widest range of any terrestrial carnivore, being native to Canada, Alaska, almost all of the contiguous United States, Europe, North Africa and almost all of Asia, including Japan. In Ireland and the UK, where there are no longer any other...
(
Vulpes vulpes) or the
feral catA feral cat is an unowned and untamed domestic cat. Feral cats are born in urban, suburban, or rural areas, and basically anywhere that people reside. They should not be confused with wildcats, as they are not wild animals. A stray cat , though unowned, still exhibits temperament similar to that...
(
Felis catus), and native predatory birds, such as the
Australian MagpieThe Australian Magpie is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Artamidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds...
(
Gymnorhina tibicen),
butcherbirdButcherbirds are magpie-like birds in the genus Cracticus. They are native to Australasia. Their closest relatives are the Australian magpie and the three species of currawong. Together they form the subfamily Cracticinae in the family Artamidae which also contains the woodswallows.Butcherbirds are...
species (
Cracticus spp.),
Laughing KookaburraThe Laughing Kookaburra, Dacelo novaeguineae, is an Australian carnivorous bird in the Kingfisher family. This species of kookaburra is well known for its laughing call.-Taxonomy:...
(
Dacelo novaeguineae),
currawongCurrawongs are medium-sized passerine birds of the family Artamidae native to Australasia. There are either three or four species . The common name comes from the call of the familiar Pied Currawong of eastern Australia and is onomatopoeic...
s (
Strepera spp.),
crowThe true crows are large passerine birds that form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on...
s and
ravenRaven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied.Species include:* Common Raven* Thick-billed Raven* Brown-necked Raven* Chihuahuan Raven...
s (
Corvus spp.),
shrike-thrushColluricincla is a bird genus in the family Colluricinclidae, which was formerly included in the Pachycephalidae. Its members are known as the shrike-thrushes.It contains the following species:* Bower's Shrike-thrush, Colluricincla boweri...
es (
Colluricincla spp.) and reptiles such as
goannaGoanna is the name used to refer to any number of Australian monitor lizards of the genus Varanus, as well as to certain species from Southeast Asia.There are around 30 species of goanna, 25 of which are found in Australia...
s. Another threat to the birds is from humans; many nests are trampled on (even by the occasional bird watcher) during breeding season because the nests are hidden close to the ground and therefore difficult for passers-by to spot.
External links