Or perhaps, more accurately, Splendid in the grass, for this is the Splendid Fairy-wren and part of his family that we came across today on our morning walk. This charming male hopped all the way up to my feet, hence the rather odd angle of the first couple of photos.
Malurus splendens splendens
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| Fluffing up |
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| So what, I get itchy sometimes… |
And below, a member of his family, another male, non-breeding.
And one of the females below. Fairy-wrens are social, living in groups which cooperate and defend a territory, but there is usually only one breeding pair.
What a beautiful blue. Reminds me of the blue jays here. Interesting that only the breeding male has that colour though. I didn't know that happened, does that happen with other birds?
Yes, indeed. Even in ducks… although not with all brightly coloured male birds. The evolutionary rational is that the bright colours indicate health and attract females who are fussy about the dad for the kids, but for the rest of the year, it makes more sense for a bird to be unobtrusive to predators.
I knew some birds became brighter, but not that they changed as much as this one.
This is great!