139.) The are wrens amongst us (the Fairy sort!)

White winged Fairy wren




Variegated Fairy wren

The fairy wrens have been amongst my favorites since arriving here - perhaps because they are so utterly cheerful with their high whispery calls. Or maybe it is their blatant "here I am" colors as they flit from bush to bush, seemingly trying to be discrete while wearing a color that exists no where else in nature. Maybe its because the guys always travel with a bevy of girls - as soon as you see three females, it is time to find the electric blue....

The variegated is quite common is most of AU but the White-winged was new to us. We spotted one in the field at a site described as "a moonscape with two lone trees". (this phot was at the Desert Park aviary).















Resembling our local Superb Fairy Wrens, these Splendid Fairy wrens have multiple races across the drier parts of AU. They are a bit of an iconic bird in the Alice Springs area and we were pleased to see them somewhat frequently - usually as "oh - there goes a blazing blue ball of lightning!). They sure moved fasted than I could usually focus!