The mallee emu-wren moults yearly after breeding, and birds have only the one plumage.
Endangered
At a glance
FamilyFairywrens
SizeSmall
RarityUncommon
HabitatTiny buff-brown bird with enormously long, fine tail, found in areas of mallee woodland with large spinifex clumps in a small area of far western Victoria and adjacent South Australia.
Best timeMost reliable in Victoria from August to November.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Frank Lambert
Range map
Range map
80approx hotspots
3622approx records
2states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Crown a clean, rich brown, with streaked back, wings, and cheek; underparts buffy brown. Males have a sky-blue throat. Tail is much longer and far more spindly than tail of fairywrens.
Behavior
The trick to finding this shy species is to find large unburned patches of spinifex, listening carefully for the species’ very thin, faint calls.
Gallery
Regional timing
Victoria
New South Wales
South Australia
Commonly confused with
Striated GrasswrenAmytornis striatusFound in mallee woodland and dunes with large spinifex clumps, where it scurries around on the ground and low branches. Upperparts rusty-brown, with a white throat and buff-colored underparts.→Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendensNonbreeding males are fairly plain grayish-brown birds with black bills, bright blue tails, and some blue in the folded wing. Females are tan above with a duller blue tail and a reddish bill. Note that the patch between the eye and bill (lores) on females is a fraction paler than the bill (in Purple-backed Fairywren the lores are much darker than the bill). This species is fairly common in arid inland Australia, as well as in southwest Western Australia.→Variegated FairywrenMalurus lambertiThe tail is very long with small pale tips sometimes visible. Females are grayish birds with pale fronts, long blue tails, and very dark red patch between the eye and the bill (lores). This species is found in coastal New South Wales and Southeast Queensland, where it prefers wet and dense vegetation. In southeast Queensland it is believed occur mainly east of the Great Dividing Range, so take care when in this area to distinguish from Purple-backed Fairywren when close to the divide.→