Malurus assimilis
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
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 |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-backed Fairywren sighting in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park on a given day, based on 143 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 84 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
November
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Purple-backed Fairywren in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park on a given day, against about 30% in March and May–August, 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.
2nd of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Purple-backed Fairywren sightings, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Flinders Ranges National Park (Australia, about 40%).
Same genus: Malurus
The closest relatives of the Purple-backed Fairywren that you can see in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (genus Malurus, Typical Fairywrens) are Splendid Fairywren (about 10%) and White-winged Fairywren (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Purple-backed Fairywren is recorded against all the birds logged in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park (143 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
