The Superb Fairy-wren

 The Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) is an iconic Australian bird. It is a much loved little bird, it is reasonably common in many parts of south-eastern Australia, particularly in urban environments, and it can be quite confiding.

                                      

The Superb Fairy-wren took the title of Australian Bird of the Year for 2021, in a poll run by The Guardian Australia. More than 400,000 votes were cast in ten days. The fairy-wren polled 13,998 votes, just ahead of the popular Tawny Frogmouth with 13,332 votes.

                                              

The species has become famous for its complex breeding system, involving polyamory and cuckoldry. It is a co-operative breeding species, where all members of a family group defend a territory and raise young. This breeding system has been studied at the Australian National University for over 30 years, and includes other cooperative breeders such as the White-winged Chough and White-browed Scrubwren. Some species may have just the one helper. The fairy-wren usually has one or two, but up to seven has been recorded. The chough can have many helpers and lives in family groups of up to 20 — a group consists of a dominant breeding pair and young from previous years.

                             

Below is a snapshot of the Superb Fairy-wren plate from the Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. The plate clearly depicts the breeding and eclipse plumages of the male, and the basic brown plumage of the female.

• Females run the show, and are known to visit and mate with neighboring males, before dawn.
• If a male raises four young, on average only one will be his.
• Young males are usually the ones to stay with their parents and perform the role of helper.