Tuesday 19 February 2013

ABC Wednesday, F for Fairywren

To enlarge the photo please click on it!


When we were on one of the beaches I showed you a couple of weeks ago,
my daughter pointed at this bird.Look at this little fellow it is called Fairywren and it lives all over Australia. So it was no surprise to find this bird on one of the beaches of north Tasmania. In Wikipedia I found some more information. During the breeding season the male is beautifully coloured with blue feathers . After the breeding season the male and female birds and also the young ones take a brownish, greyish colour.

"They are small to medium birds, inhabiting a wide range of environments, from rainforest to desert, although most species inhabit grassland or scrub. The grasswrens are well camouflaged with black and brown patterns, but other species often have brilliantly coloured plumage, especially in the males.
They are insectivorous, typically foraging in underbrush. They build domed nests in areas of dense vegetation, and it is not unusual for the young to remain in the nest and assist in raising chicks from later clutches.
Fairywrens are notable for several peculiar behavioral characteristics. They 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. Males of several species pluck petals of conspicuous colors and display them to females for reasons unknown."


Click on these photos to enlarge them.
These photos belong to Wikipedia.

a small long-tailed vivid pale blue and black bird perched among some grasslike vegetation
Male in breeding plumage
subspecies cyaneus
a small pale brown bird with a gaping orange beak, on twig-like foliage
Female – Victorian High Country

 We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words    beginning with F , in our new round.























27 comments:

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What an interesting little bird -- quite the lifestyle they lead isn't it ;)! Beautiful bird too -- Seems like Australia has all the best birds!

Sylvia K said...

Such a beautiful little bird, Wil! Wonderful capture for the day! Hope you have great weekend!

Roger Owen Green said...

This post was a real tweet, I mean treat.

The Weaver of Grass said...

What a beautiful name Wil. As usual the male is so much more colourful than the female - although her colouring is much more subtle.

anthonynorth said...

A beautiful bird.

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the fairy wren. I don't think I've ever seen them before. We have carolina wrens where I live.

Unknown said...

this is a beautiful bird. i don't know much about birds but i like them in colors.:p

F is for...

Richard Lawry said...

Such a beautiful bird. I had not heard of them before. Thanks for the great post!
An Arkies Musings

Marleen said...

Wat een prachtig vogeltje, en wat verschilt het mannetje van het vrouwtje!

MERYL JAFFE, PhD - parent, psychologist, teacher, author... said...

What a great name fora bird!

Tania said...

Beautiful little birds! I love birds and also to take pictures of them. I have even registered all I have photographed (nerdy)

photowannabe said...

How unusual for the male to change his color so drastically. I love that name and their lifestyle is quite interesting.

Nonnie said...

fabulous feature for ABC Wednesday! such a stunning color and I love the bird's name!

Leslie: said...

It looks like a little Fairy with its colouring! So pretty!

Leslie
abcw team

Anonymous said...

WoW ! What excellent photos for ABC ~ love the birds!

Thanks for 'visiting' glad you enjoyed the 'cup of tea'

Wanda said...

What a cute little bird. Very interesting it's social and moral behaviour. HaHa..Do birds have morals?

LONDONLULU said...

I love its vibrant colouring and its beautiful name - so apt for such a delicate and fantastic looking bird. A lovely F!

Vicki Lane said...

What a pretty little bird! I'm scrolling back to catch up with some of your posts that I've missed recently.

Hazel said...

Fairywren! What a beautiful name (I'm a fan of fairies) Interesting how they change colors after the breeding season.

Hildred said...

I love birds with blue plumage, - but the female is equally as sweet.
Beautifully named.....

Linda said...

Fascinating little birds with long tails.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

being fairy, I suppose it i svery small like the fairy penguins.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

use private message when you write to your daughter. when you face book

Kay said...

I could swear I saw a bird like that when we were walking in New Zealand. It seemed to be following us and flying around us. It was magical. We later learned that because we were walking through the woods, we were probably stirring up insects that the bird was catching and eating. Not quite as magical to know, but it was fun when it was happening.

Shady Gardener said...

Good afternoon, Reader Wil. This was an interesting post. I hadn't known there were male birds whose coloring changed, except for Arctic birds... This is a very sweet bird.

Does your header photo show where you live? If so, you are very near water! Ocean?

Vagabonde said...

C’est un petit oiseau tout mignon! Et le ton du bleu est vraiment joli.

Chubskulit Rose said...

That's a very beautiful bird, I love the blue in his feathers.

Fitness... Fashion... Family

Playing catch up again with F entries..
Rose, ABC Wednesday Team