Emu-wren
Encyclopedia
The emu-wrens are a genus
of bird
in the fairy-wren family Maluridae
. They are found only in Australia
where they inhabit scrub, heathland and grassland
. They are small birds, 12–19 cm long with the tail accounting for over half of their length. The tail has only six feathers which are loose and coarse in structure, rather like the feathers of the Emu
. Three species are recognised, one of which is endangered.
. The genus was defined by French naturalist René Lesson in 1831 after his visit to Port Jackson on the 1823-5 voyage of the Coquille, although the Southern Emu-wren had already been encountered and described soon after European settlement at Sydney Cove. The three species have been variously considered as one, two or even four species (the Western Australian subspecies westernensis of the Southern considered a species at one point. Their closest relative, based on allozyme studies, appears to be the Orange-crowned Fairywren of the monotypic genus Clytomyias from the mountains of New Guinea.
The three species are:
Ornithologist Richard Schodde
has proposed the Southern Emu-wren is the ancestral form from which the other two species have evolved.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the fairy-wren family Maluridae
Maluridae
The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
. They are found only in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where they inhabit scrub, heathland and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
. They are small birds, 12–19 cm long with the tail accounting for over half of their length. The tail has only six feathers which are loose and coarse in structure, rather like the feathers of the Emu
Emu
The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
. Three species are recognised, one of which is endangered.
Taxonomy
The common name of the genus is derived from the resemblance of their tails to the feathers of an EmuEmu
The Emu Dromaius novaehollandiae) is the largest bird native to Australia and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius. It is the second-largest extant bird in the world by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. There are three subspecies of Emus in Australia...
. The genus was defined by French naturalist René Lesson in 1831 after his visit to Port Jackson on the 1823-5 voyage of the Coquille, although the Southern Emu-wren had already been encountered and described soon after European settlement at Sydney Cove. The three species have been variously considered as one, two or even four species (the Western Australian subspecies westernensis of the Southern considered a species at one point. Their closest relative, based on allozyme studies, appears to be the Orange-crowned Fairywren of the monotypic genus Clytomyias from the mountains of New Guinea.
The three species are:
- Southern Emu-wrenSouthern Emu-wrenThe Southern Emu-wren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.-Taxonomy:...
(Stipiturus malachurus), found in coastal southeastern and southwestern Australia. It has seven recognised subspecies. - Mallee Emu-wrenMallee Emu-wrenThe Mallee Emu-wren is a bird species in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia.Its natural habitat is temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Taxonomy:...
(Stipiturus mallee) (endangered), restricted to the Mallee country of Northwestern Victoria and southeastern South Australia. - Rufous-crowned Emu-wrenRufous-crowned Emu-wrenThe Rufous-crowned Emu-wren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family.It is endemic to Australia.-Taxonomy:...
(Stipiturus ruficeps) of the arid interior of central-northern Australia.
Ornithologist Richard Schodde
Richard Schodde
Richard Schodde, OAM is an Australian botanist and ornithologist.Schodde studied at the University of Adelaide where he received a BSc in 1960 and a PhD in 1970. During the 1960s he was a botanist with the CSIRO Division of Land Research and Regional Survey in Papua New Guinea...
has proposed the Southern Emu-wren is the ancestral form from which the other two species have evolved.
Description
All three exhibit sexual dimorphism, the males have brownish plumage with rufous crowns of varying intensity, and a sky blue throat and upper chest. The females lack the blue coloration and are predominantly reddish brown above and paler below. Their most distinctive feature is their long tails, composed of six filamentous feathers, the central two longer again. The tail is double the body length in the case of the Southern and Rufous-crowned species. They weigh from 5.4 g in the case of the smallest, the Rufous-crowned, to 7.5 g of the Southern Emu-wren.Habitat and behaviour
The three live in distinct habitats: the Southern Emu-wren preferring marshes and heathland, the Mallee Emu-wren inhabiting spinifex understory in Mallee woodland, and the Rufous-crowned Emu-wren dwelling in spinifex in desert areas. All are fairly secretive and hard to spot, living in low shrub cover. Emu-wrens are predominantly insectivorous, but supplement their diet with seeds. Their furtive behaviour and brown colour has resulted in them being mistaken for bush mice.cited text
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2007). Handbook of the Birds of the WorldHandbook of the Birds of the WorldThe Handbook of the Birds of the World is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. The series is edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott, Jordi Sargatal and David A Christie.So far, 15...
. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 9788496553422 - Pizzey, Graham & Knight, Frank (1997) The Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, HarperCollins, London, UK.