The purple-crowned fairywren is a distinctive bird. It wears a violet-purple crown featured with a dark spot at the center. This unique feature makes these little chubby birds conspicuous whenever they are.
Unlike male birds, the females do not have a purple crown on their heads. And their cheeks are brown while these of males are black.
Both sexes have a beautiful blue tail that creates a stunning contrast with their light brown plumage.
The purple-crowned fairywren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It’s native to northern Australia.
They can be found in the riparian habitat with dense vegetation, such as well-developed midstoreys composed of dense shrubs or tall, dense thickets of river grass.
Unlike the related superb fairywren, these birds do not prefer living in urbanized habitats.
Purple-crowned fairywrens are insectivorous. They feed on a wide variety of invertebrates, and sometimes also eat seeds.
These birds are socially monogamous. However, females with related males as partners will mate with other individuals.
During the breeding season, female birds build their dome-shaped nest. They then lay 2-3 eggs in the nest and incubate them.
Currently, the Purple-crowned fairywren is listed as endangered due to livestock grazing, fires, and invasive species.
To preserve and expand their population, the Australian government and conservation groups have had active conservation interventions.
If you love these birds and want to raise awareness of the public of this bird species, just share this post with family and friends. They are so cute, right?
