Identification:  Breeding males have blue plumage around the crown and neck. The back of the neck, lower back, throat and breast are black and the wings are a grey-brown. Females and non-breeding males have brown upper parts with pale breast and underparts.

Call/Song:  This wren makes a brooding purr, a threat call, as well as a low churring. To advertise, defend territory and keep close together, both sexes of the Superb fairy wren have a song comprising of loud, rapid notes ending in a trill.

Found from south-eastern Queensland down as far as Tasmania and west through to southern Eyre Peninsula (South Australia).

Habitat: Prefers shrubby habitat with interspersed clearings.

Feeding: Forages for small insects.

Breeding/Nesting: Breeds mainly from September to January (may also extend to March). Makes a small, grass ball as a nest usually in a dense bush about 1m off the ground.

Movement: Lives in a group as a family party and are normally well accustomed to human activity. 

photo: Glenn Threlfo

Other Common Names: Superb blue wren, Mormon wren, Gould's blue wren, long-tailed superb warbler.

Status:

Distribution: 

Abundance:

Queensland Museum (1995) Wildlife of Greater Brisbane, Queensland Museum, Brisbane.

Reader's Digest Services (1979) Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds, Surry Hills, NSW.