Splendid Fairywren

The Splendid Fairywren (Malurus splendens) is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is also known simply as the splendid wren or more colloquially in Western Australia the blue wren. From central-western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland to coastal Western Australia, the Splendid fairywren can be found throughout a large portion of the Australian continent. It mostly lives in dry and semi-arid areas. The male of this species, which has a high degree of sexual dimorphism, is a tiny, long-tailed bird that is most vivid blue and black in color. Since all dull-colored birds were mistaken for females in the beginning, non-breeding males, females, and juveniles were primarily grey-brown in color. This produced the early impression that males were polygamous. It includes numerous related all-black and all-blue subspecies that were formerly thought of as different species.

The Splendid fairywren shares some unusual behavioral traits with other fairywrens, including social monogamy and sexual promiscuity, which means that even while they form pairs with one male and one female, each partner will mate with other people and even help raise the young from such trysts. As part of their courtship display, male wrens collect pink or purple petals and hold them out to the females.