Purple-backed fairywren

Last updated

Purple-backed fairywren
Vfairy wren 2 - Christopher Watson.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Maluridae
Genus: Malurus
Species:
M. assimilis
Binomial name
Malurus assimilis
North, 1901

The purple-backed fairywren (Malurus assimilis) is a fairywren that is native to Australia. Described by Alfred John North in 1901, it has four recognised subspecies. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage. Distributed over much of the Australian continent, the purple-backed fairywren is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover.

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

Australian ornithologist Alfred John North described the purple-backed fairywren in 1901, proposing it be called the purple-backed superb warbler. He added that Edward Pierson Ramsay had noted that inland specimens differed from coastal specimens of the variegated fairywren around 25 years previously. [2] However, Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews considered it a subspecies of the variegated fairywren. [3]

Mathews went on to name subspecies mastersi from the Northern Territory on the basis of a paler blue colouring of the adult male's ear coverts, subspecies occidentalis from Western Australia on the basis of a blue rather than purplish crown, and subspecies mungi from northwestern Australia on the basis of the male's darker ear coverts and female's buff coloration. [3] None are recognised as distinct.

He also described subspecies dulcis and subspecies rogersi as subspecies of the lovely fairywren. [3]

It was long considered a subspecies of the variegated fairywren until its genetic distinctness led to it once again becoming a separate species in 2018. [4]

Within the genus it belongs to a group of five very similar species known collectively as chestnut-shouldered fairywrens. The other four species are the lovely fairywren, variegated fairywren, red-winged fairywren, and the blue-breasted fairywren. [5] Mathews erected the genus Leggeornis for the group, [6] now reclassified as a subgenus within Malurus. [7]

A 2011 analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found that the purple-backed fairywren was nested within the variegated fairywren complex, and is the sister taxon of the lovely fairywren. [8]

Like other fairywrens, the purple-backed fairywren is unrelated to the true wrens. Initially, fairywrens were thought to be a member of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, or the warbler family, Sylviidae, before being placed in the newly recognised Maluridae in 1975. [9] More recently, DNA analysis has shown the family to be related to the honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) and the pardalotes (Pardalotidae) in a large superfamily Meliphagoidea. [10] [11]

"Purple-backed fairywren" has been designated the official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). [4]

Subspecies

Four subspecies are currently recognised. There are zones with intermediate forms between the ranges of each subspecies.

Evolutionary history

In his 1982 monograph, ornithologist Richard Schodde proposed a northern origin for the chestnut-shouldered fairywren group due to the variety of forms in north and their absence in the southeast of the continent. Ancestral birds spread south and colonised the southwest during a warm wetter period around 2 million years ago at the end of the Pliocene or beginning of the Pleistocene. Subsequent cooler and drier conditions resulted in loss of habitat and fragmentation of populations. South-western birds gave rise to what is now the red-winged fairywren, while those in the northwest of the continent became the variegated fairywren and yet another isolated in the northeast became the lovely fairywren. Further warmer, humid conditions again allowed birds to spread southwards, this group occupying central southern Australia east to the Eyre Peninsula became the blue-breasted fairywren. Cooler climate after this resulted in this being isolated as well and evolving into a separate species. Finally, after the end of the last glacial period 12,000–13,000 years ago, the northern variegated forms have again spread southwards, resulting in the purple-backed fairywren. This has resulted in the variegated fairywren's range to overlap with all four other species. Schodde also proposed that the blue-grey coloured females of the lavender-flanked subspecies were ancestral, while the browner coloration of females of southern forms was an adaptation to dry climates. Further molecular studies may result in this hypothesis being modified. [13]

A 2017 molecular analysis by Alison J. McLean and colleagues of the various subspecies across Australia largely supported Schodde's hypothesis. The Great Dividing Range was a major barrier and there is a deep genetic split between subspecies lamberti to its east, and subspecies assimilis and the others to the west. McLean proposed resurrecting the separate species status of the purple-backed fairywren as M. assimilis and the other subspecies to the north and west as reallocated to this species. A genetic split was also found across the Eyrean barrier, suggesting splitting those east and west (as M. assimilis mastersiMathews) into separate subspecies would reflect the divergence. [19]

Description

The purple-backed fairywren is on average 14.5 cm (5.5 in) long.[ citation needed ] Like other fairywrens, it is notable for its marked sexual dimorphism, males adopting a highly visible breeding plumage of brilliant iridescent blue and chestnut contrasting with black and grey-brown. The brightly coloured crown and ear tufts are prominently featured in breeding displays. [20] The male in breeding plumage has striking bright blue ear coverts and blue-purple crown and forehead, a black throat and nape, a blue-purple upper back, chestnut shoulders and a bluish-grey tail. The wings are drab brown and the belly white. [21] Within subspecies assimilis, the plumage of both sexes is becomes paler from east to west across its range, with those of northwestern Australia paler still. [22] Non-breeding males, females and juveniles of subspecies assimilis are predominantly grey-brown in colour, while those of subspecies rogersi and dulcis are mainly blue-grey. [16] Males of all subspecies have a black bill and lores (eye-ring and bare skin between eyes and bill), while females of subspecies assimilis and rogersi have a red-brown bill and bright rufous lores, and those of subspecies dulcis have white lores. [21] Immature males will develop black bills by six months of age, [15] and moult into breeding plumage the first breeding season after hatching, though this may be incomplete with residual brownish plumage and may take another year or two to perfect. [23] Both sexes moult in autumn after breeding, with males assuming an eclipse non-breeding plumage. They will moult again into nuptial plumage in winter or spring. [24] The blue coloured plumage, particularly the ear-coverts, of the breeding males is highly iridescent due to the flattened and twisted surface of the barbules. [24] The blue plumage also reflects ultraviolet light strongly, and so may be even more prominent to other fairywrens, whose colour vision extends into that part of the spectrum. [25]

Distribution and habitat

The purple-backed fairywren is widely distributed over much of the Australian continent. It is replaced in southwestern Western Australia by the red-winged and blue-breasted fairywrens, [22] and by the lovely fairywren north of a line between Normanton and Townsville in north Queensland. [26] Some early evidence suggested subspecies assimilis may be nomadic, but later more detailed fieldwork indicated it was generally sedentary, with pairs of purple-backed fairywrens maintaining territories year-round. There is little information on the other subspecies. [27]

It is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover. It prefers rocky outcrops and patches of Acacia , Eremophila or lignum in inland and northern Australia. [28] Fieldwork in the Northern Territory showed that the species preferred open woodland dominated by thickets of lancewood ( Acacia shirleyi ) and bullwaddy ( Macropteranthes kekwickii ) than eucalyptus. [29] Chenopod scrubland with plants such as saltbush, bluebush, black rolypoly ( Sclerolaena muricata ), nitre goosefoot ( Chenopodium nitrariaceum ), grass tussocks, and overstory plants such as black box ( Eucalyptus largiflorens ) and native cypress ( Callitris ). [30]

Clearing of native vegetation for agriculture in the Western Australian wheatbelt and Murray-Mallee region of Victoria had a negative impact on the species, as does the consumption of saltbush by cattle. [27]

Behaviour

Breeding

Breeding can occur at any time in inland Australia, with birds taking the opportunity to nest after heavy rains, although only one brood is usually raised each year. [28]

The nest is a round or domed structure made of loosely woven grasses, twigs, bark and spider webs, with an entrance in one side, and is often larger than those of other fairywrens. Nest measured at Shark Bay ranged from 9 to 11 cm tall and 5 to 9 cm wide. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australasian wren</span> Family of birds

The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species in six genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey currawong</span> Large passerine bird native to southern Australia and Tasmania

The grey currawong is a large passerine bird native to southern Australia, including Tasmania. One of three currawong species in the genus Strepera, it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of the family Artamidae. It is a large crow-like bird, around 48 cm (19 in) long on average; with yellow irises, a heavy bill, dark plumage with white undertail and wing patches. The male and female are similar in appearance. Six subspecies are recognised and are distinguished by overall plumage colour, which ranges from slate-grey for the nominate from New South Wales and eastern Victoria and subspecies plumbea from Western Australia, to sooty black for the clinking currawong of Tasmania and subspecies halmaturina from Kangaroo Island. All grey currawongs have a loud distinctive ringing or clinking call.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superb fairywren</span> Species of bird

The superb fairywren is a passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae, and is common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. It is a sedentary and territorial species, also exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism; the male in breeding plumage has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous, as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. Six subspecies groups are recognized: three larger and darker forms from Tasmania, Flinders and King Island respectively, and three smaller and paler forms from mainland Australia and Kangaroo Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Variegated fairywren</span> Species of bird

The variegated fairywren is a fairywren that lives in eastern Australia. As a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Splendid fairywren</span> Species of bird

The splendid fairywren 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 as the blue wren. The splendid fairywren is found across much of the Australian continent from central-western New South Wales and southwestern Queensland over to coastal Western Australia. It inhabits predominantly arid and semi-arid regions. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male in breeding plumage is a small, long-tailed bird of predominantly bright blue and black colouration. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour; this gave the early impression that males were polygamous as all dull-coloured birds were taken for females. It comprises several similar all-blue and black subspecies that were originally considered separate species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusky grasswren</span> Species of bird

The dusky grasswren is a species of small passerine bird in the family Maluridae. The species is endemic to Australia but is limited to inland areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange-crowned fairywren</span> Species of bird

The orange-crowned fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is monotypic within the genus Clytomyias. It is found on New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-shouldered fairywren</span> Species of bird

The white-shouldered fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found in New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lovely fairywren</span> Species of bird

The lovely fairywren, or lovely wren, is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to northeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple-crowned fairywren</span> Species of songbird endemic to northern Australia in the family Maluridae

The purple-crowned fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is the largest of the eleven species in the genus Malurus and is endemic to northern Australia. The species name is derived from the Latin word cǒrōna meaning "crown", owing to the distinctive purple circle of crown feathers sported by breeding males. Genetic evidence shows that the purple-crowned fairywren is most closely related to the superb fairywren and splendid fairywren. Purple-crowned fairywrens can be distinguished from other fairywrens in northern Australia by the presence of cheek patches and the deep blue colour of their perky tails.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emperor fairywren</span> Species of bird

The emperor fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found in New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is the largest species of fairywren. It is highly sexually dimorphic. Males have a blue and black plumage, with the females having blue and black plumage only on their heads, with the rest of the body being coloured a rusty brown and having a black tail tipped with white. There are 3 recognized subspecies of the emperor fairywren, one from north and northwestern New Guinea, one from Biak Island, and one from south New Guinea and the Aru Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-winged fairywren</span> Passerine bird in the Australasian wren family

The red-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is non-migratory and endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male adopts a brilliantly coloured breeding plumage, with an iridescent silvery-blue crown, ear coverts and upper back, red shoulders, contrasting with a black throat, grey-brown tail and wings and pale underparts. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, though males may bear isolated blue and black feathers. No separate subspecies are recognised. Similar in appearance and closely related to the variegated fairywren and the blue-breasted fairywren, it is regarded as a separate species as no intermediate forms have been recorded where their ranges overlap. Though the red-winged fairywren is locally common, there is evidence of a decline in numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged fairywren</span> Australian species of bird

The white-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It lives in the drier parts of Central Australia; from central Queensland and South Australia across to Western Australia. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked sexual dimorphism and one or more males of a social group grow brightly coloured plumage during the breeding season. The female is sandy-brown with light-blue tail feathers; it is smaller than the male, which, in breeding plumage, has a bright-blue body, black bill, and white wings. Younger sexually mature males are almost indistinguishable from females and are often the breeding males. In spring and summer, a troop of white-winged fairywrens has a brightly coloured older male accompanied by small, inconspicuous brown birds, many of which are also male. Three subspecies are recognised. Apart from the mainland subspecies, one is found on Dirk Hartog Island, and another on Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia. Males from these islands have black rather than blue breeding plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-backed fairywren</span> Passerine bird in the Australasian wren family

The red-backed fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines from the Kimberley in the northwest to the Hunter Region in New South Wales. The male adopts a striking breeding plumage, with a black head, upperparts and tail, and a brightly coloured red back and brown wings. The female has brownish upperparts and paler underparts. The male in eclipse plumage and the juvenile resemble the female. Some males remain in non-breeding plumage while breeding. Two subspecies are recognised; the nominate M. m.melanocephalus of eastern Australia has a longer tail and orange back, and the short-tailed M. m. cruentatus from northern Australia has a redder back.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-breasted fairywren</span> Species of bird

The blue-breasted fairywren, or blue-breasted wren, is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is non-migratory and endemic to southern Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. Exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism, the male adopts a brilliantly coloured breeding plumage, with a bright blue crown, ear coverts and upper back, red shoulders, contrasting with a dark blue throat, grey-brown tail and wings and pale underparts. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage. No separate subspecies are recognised.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace's fairywren</span> Species of bird

Wallace's fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is monotypic within the genus Sipodotus. It is found in New Guinea and the Aru Islands, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern emu-wren</span> Species of bird

The southern emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and swamplands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emu-wren</span> Genus of birds

The emu-wrens (Stipiturus) are a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. They are found only in Australia, where they inhabit scrub, heathland and grassland. They are small birds, 12–19 cm long with the tail accounting for over half of their length. The tail has only six feathers which are loose and coarse in structure, rather like the feathers of the emu. Three species are recognised, of which the mallee emu-wren is endangered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mallee emu-wren</span> Species of bird

The mallee emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-crowned emu-wren</span> Species of bird

The rufous-crowned emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2019). "Malurus assimilis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  2. ↑ North AJ (1901). "Description of a new species of the genus Malurus". The Victorian Naturalist. 18: 29–30.
  3. 1 2 3 Mathews GM (1912). "A Reference List to the Birds of Australia". Novitates Zoologicae. 18 (3): 171–446 [360–61].
  4. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Lyrebirds, scrubbirds, bowerbirds, Australasian wrens". World Bird List Version 7.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 159.
  6. ↑ Mathews GM (1923). The Birds of Australia. Vol. Supplement 2. London: Witherby & Co. p. 94.
  7. ↑ Australian Biological Resources Study (28 February 2013). "Subgenus Malurus (Leggeornis) Mathews, 1912". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 8 February 2018.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ Driskell AC, Norman JA, Pruett-Jones S, Mangall E, Sonsthagen S, Christidis L (2011). "A multigene phylogeny examining evolutionary and ecological relationships in the Australo-papuan wrens of the subfamily Malurinae (Aves)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 60 (3): 480–85. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.030. PMID   21466855.
  9. ↑ Schodde R (1975). Interim List of Australian Songbirds (Report). Melbourne: RAOU.
  10. ↑ Barker, FK; Barrowclough GF; Groth JG (2002). "A phylogenetic hypothesis for passerine birds: taxonomic and biogeographic implications of an analysis of nuclear DNA sequence data". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 269 (1488): 295–308. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1883. PMC   1690884 . PMID   11839199.
  11. ↑ Barker, FK; Cibois A; Schikler P; Feinstein J; Cracraft J (2004). "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101 (30): 11040–11045. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0401892101 . PMC   503738 . PMID   15263073.
  12. 1 2 Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392. ISBN   0-670-90478-3.
  13. 1 2 3 Schodde, R. (1982). The fairywrens: a monograph of the Maluridae. Melbourne: Lansdowne Editions. ISBN   0-7018-1051-3.
  14. ↑ Mathews, GM (1908). "Malurus dulcis sp.n". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 27: 48.
  15. 1 2 Rowley & Russell 1997, pp. 160–61.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Higgins 2001, p. 324.
  17. ↑ Mathews, GM (1912). "A reference list to the birds of Australia". Novitates Zoologicae. 18: 171–656. doi: 10.5962/bhl.part.1694 .
  18. ↑ Ford JR, Johnstone RE (1991). "Hybridisation Between Malurus lamberti rogersi and Malurus lamberti assimilis in North-western Australia" (PDF). Emu. 91 (3): 251–54. doi:10.1071/MU9910251 . Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  19. ↑ McLean AJ, Toon A, Schmidt DJ, Hughes JM, Joseph L (2017). "Phylogeography and geno-phenotypic discordance in a widespread Australian bird, the Variegated Fairy-wren, Malurus lamberti (Aves: Maluridae)". Biol J Linn Soc. 121 (3): 655–669. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blx004.
  20. ↑ Rowley & Russell 1997, pp. 143–44.
  21. 1 2 Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 160.
  22. 1 2 Higgins 2001, p. 323.
  23. ↑ Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 145.
  24. 1 2 Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 144.
  25. ↑ Bennett AT, Cuthill IC (1994). "Ultraviolet vision in birds: what is its function?". Vision Research. 34 (11): 1471–78. doi:10.1016/0042-6989(94)90149-X. PMID   8023459. S2CID   38220252.
  26. ↑ Higgins 2001, p. 313.
  27. 1 2 Higgins 2001, p. 314.
  28. 1 2 3 Rowley & Russell 1997, p. 164.
  29. ↑ Woinarski JC, Fisher A (1995). "Wildlife of Lancewood (Acacia Shirleyi) Thickets and Woodlands in Northern Australia. 2. Comparisons With Other Environments of the Region (Acacia Woodlands, Eucalyptus Savanna Woodlands and Monsoon Rainforests)". Wildlife Research. 22 (4): 413–43. doi:10.1071/WR9950413.
  30. ↑ Higgins 2001, p. 312.

Cited texts

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.