This species is found in habitat with large spinifex clumps, where it scurries around between clumps.
SA: Near Threatened
At a glance
FamilyFairywrens
SizeTiny
RarityRare
HabitatThis species is found in habitat with large spinifex clumps, where it scurries around between clumps.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from July to August.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by JACOB Hervé
Range map
Range map
17approx hotspots
631approx 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
Upperparts rufous-brown, with white throat and pale underparts.
Behavior
Formerly considered a subspecies of Striated Grasswren.
Gallery
Regional timing
Queensland
New South Wales
Commonly confused with
White-winged FairywrenMalurus leucopterusA small bird with a long blue tail that is held cocked. Females and nonbreeding males are very plain pale gray, and the patch between the eye and bill (lores) is also pale (compared to Purple-backed Fairywren which has very dark reddish lores). This species is typically found in very open and arid country with sparse bushes, where it often perches on the very top of bushes. Its call is a very fast trill.→Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilisSmall pale tips are sometimes visible on the tail. Over much of the species’s inland range, females are overall grayish birds with pale fronts and long blue tails; however, females of the subspecies found in the sandstone regions of the Kimberley and Arnhem Land have contrasting blue crowns and backs. This species occurs over much of arid inland Australia and is found in open vegetation.→