Red-Backed Fairywren
Malurus melanocephalus
Also known as: Red-Backed Fairy-Wren
About This Species
Small groups work low in tall grass, scrub and woodland edges across northern and eastern Australia, hopping through cover with a cocked tail rather than perching in the open. Breeding males show a striking scarlet and black plumage while females and non-breeding birds stay warm brown, so a flock often mixes both looks at once. Listen for a thin, reeling song from dense grass, especially at dawn in the warmer months when breeding activity peaks.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay on tracks and view from a distance with binoculars rather than pushing into the grass or scrub clumps they nest in low to the ground.
- Groups are cooperative breeders that stay close to a small territory, so repeated close approaches during the breeding season can flush adults off eggs or chicks.
- General wildlife protection law in Australia restricts disturbance of native birds at the nest, and the same caution applies wherever similar dense-cover species are found.
LCAvesPasseriformesMaluridae
Seasonal Activity
170,084 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Maluridae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.