Malurus assimilis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The purple-backed fairywren (Malurus assimilis) is a fairywren that is native to Australia. Described by Alfred John North in 1901, it has four recognised subspecies. In a species that exhibits sexual dimorphism, the brightly coloured breeding male has chestnut shoulders and azure crown and ear coverts, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles have predominantly grey-brown plumage, although females of two subspecies have mainly blue-grey plumage. Distributed over much of the Australian continent, the purple-backed fairywren is found in scrubland with plenty of vegetation providing dense cover.
Australian ornithologist Alfred John North described the purple-backed fairywren in 1901, proposing it be called the purple-backed superb warbler. He added that Edward Pierson Ramsay had noted that inland specimens differed from coastal specimens of the variegated fairywren around 25 years previously. However, Australian amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews considered it a subspecies of the variegated fairywren.
Mathews went on to name subspecies mastersi from the Northern Territory on the basis of a paler blue colouring of the adult male's ear coverts, subspecies... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Cape Range | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perth | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alice Springs Desert Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-backed Fairywren sighting in Perth on a given day, based on 583 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 77th most-seen of the 162 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and July–February
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-backed Fairywren in Perth on a given day, against under 5% in March and June, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Purple-backed Fairywren sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Perth, in our data
Perth is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Purple-backed Fairywren sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-backed Fairywren is recorded against all the birds logged in Perth (583 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
