THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
182 
PLATE XXVI 
FAIRY WRENS OF THE HEATH AND SHRUBS 
1. Blue Wren Malurus cyaneus Latham — 1A. Female 
Mal-ur-us — Gk, malacos, soft; Gk, oura, tail: cy-an-e-us — Gk, cyanos, 
blue. 
Distribution . — From southern Queensland to Victoria and South Aus- 
tralia, Kangaroo Island and Tasmania. 
Notes . — Also called Superb Warbler, Blue Warbler, Blue Bonnet, 
Blue Cap, Blue Tit, Mormon Wren, and Cocktail. Usually in pairs or 
family parties, according to the season of the year. Its favourite haunts 
are thickets on the fringes of scrubs and the banks of watercourses ; it is 
also plentiful in orchards and gardens. It has a pretty, tremulous song, 
somewhat like a musical alarm clock. Food : insects and their larvae. The 
young male resembles the female; the first change in plumage is the 
appearance of a dark blue tail and dark brown bill. Later other changes 
follow quickly; black feathers appear on the nape and chest, and blue 
feathers on the crown, cheeks, and back. After each breeding-season the 
male moults into the brown phase again, until he is about three years 
old, when he retains his adult plumage. 
Nest . — A dome-shaped structure with an entrance at the side slightly 
protected by a hood, composed of grasses, bark-fibre, rootlets, cobwebs, 
and cocoons ; lined with feathers, fur, hair, wool, or other soft materials. 
Usually built near the ground in shrubs, more especially those with grass 
growing through them. 
Eggs . — Three or four, fleshy or reddish-white, minutely dotted, 
spotted, or blotched with pale red, or different shades of reddish-brown, 
the markings being more numerous on the larger end. Breeding-season: 
July to February. 
2. Black-backed Wren Malurus melanotus Gould — 2A. Female 
mel f -an-o-tus — Gk, melas ( melanos ), black; Gk, noton , back. 
Distribution. — Central- western Queensland, western New South 
Wales, and north-western Victoria to the border of Western Australia. 
Notes . — Usually in pairs or family parties, inhabiting low bushes 
growing on the plains, in mallee, mulga, and brigalow scrubs, and in the 
thickets on the slopes of hills, or in sheltered gullies. Very similar in 
habits to the Blue Wren. Food: insects and their larvae. 
