PLATE XXVI 
FAIRY WRENS OF THE HEATH AND SHRUBS 
1. Blue Wren Malums cyaneus Latham—1 A. Female 
Mal-uP-us— Gk, malacos, soft; Gk, oura, tail: cy-an'-e-ns— Gk, cyanos , 
blue. 
distribution. From southern Queensland to Victoria and South 
Australia, 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 water¬ 
courses; 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'-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 mallec, 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. 
nest. A dome-shaped structure with a rounded entrance near the 
top, composed of grasses, bark-fibre and wool; lined with feathers, fine 
