There is no false modesty attached to the Splendid Fairy-wren — it lives up to its name. Male birds in breeding plumage shimmer in electric shades of violet-blue, turquoise and pale-blue, relieved only by a few bands of inky black feathers. However, it is not all glitz and glamour because, as in most species of fairy-wrens, males in non-breeding plumage and females are mostly drab brown, although their long tail feathers are dull-blue. The species lives in arid and semi-arid Australia, where it inhabits shrublands and shrubby woodlands.
The breeding plumage of the male Splendid Fairy-wren is predominantly blue, varying from cobalt-blue in the east of its range to violet-blue in the west. It has black bands at the base of the tail (absent in the violet-blue birds), across the breast and from the beak, through the eyes to join a band across the back of its neck. Its crown and cheek patches are paler blue. The wings and long tail are brown with a blue wash. His beak is black and his legs and feet are brown-grey. In non-breeding plumage, called eclipse, he is very similar to the female, being pale brown above and buff to white underneath although he retains the blue wash on wings and tail. The female does not have the blue wash on her wings but does have a reddish-tan line from the beak to the eye, that extends into a ring around her eye. Her beak is reddish-tan.
A rapid series of slightly metallic, high-pitched pips that blend into an “undulating” call. Bird call recorded by: Marc Anderson
These birds are widely distributed across Australia in two areas. One area is from about Shark Bay south through WA, through SA to about the Flinders Ranges (excluding the coast) and the southern and central parts of NT. The eastern area include SA from the Flinders Ranges, the far north-western tip of Vic, NSW east to about Moree and Balranald and south central Qld.
These birds live in arid to semi-arid areas, in mostly dense shrublands or woodlands of acacia, and mallee eucalypt with dense shrubs.
The nest is so small that the female’s long tail is bent during incubation. These birds are mostly sedentary, defending a territory all year, but the younger females may disperse to another territory. In some areas they are semi-nomadic, depending on local conditions.
Like most of the fairy-wrens, Splendid Fairy-wrens eat mostly insects and forage on both the ground and in shrubs. They live in groups that forage together.
The Splendid Fairy-wren female builds an oval domed nest of dry grass, strips of bark and rootlets, with an entrance two-thirds of the way up one side. The female is the only member of the group to incubate the eggs, but all members of the group feed the chicks.