? Maluridae
Juvenile Superb Fairy-wren
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Maluridae
Genera
Malurus Sipodotus Clytomyias Stipiturus Amytornis

The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivouous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere. The family includes 14 species of fairy-wren, 3 emu-wrens, and 10 grasswrens. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 843 KB) Summary Juvenile superb fairy-wren Licensing I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Binomial name Malurus cyaneus Latham, 1783 The Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) is the best-known of all fairy-wrens, and in south-eastern Australia is frequently known simply as the blue wren. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Many - see section below. ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Genera Donacobius Campylorhynchus Odontorchilus Salpinctes Catherpes Hylorchilus Cinnycerthia Thryomanes Ferminia Troglodytes Cistothorus Uropsila Thryorchilus Thryothorus Henicorhina Microcerculus Cyphorhinus Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) Stamp FR 345 of Postverk Føroya, Faroe Islands Issued: 22 February 1999 Artist: Astrid Andreasen The true wrens are members of a mainly New World passerine bird family... Insert non-formatted text here The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On the Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and population. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ...

As with many other Australian creatures, and perhaps more than most, the species making up this family were comprehensively misunderstood by early researchers. They were variously classified as Old World flycatchers, Old World warblers, and Old World babblers. In the late 1960s morphological studies began to suggest that the Australo-Papuan fairy-wrens, the grasswrens, emu-wrens and two monotypic wren-like genera from New Guinea were related and, following Charles Sibley's pioneering work on egg-white proteins in the mid-1970s, Australian researchers introduced the family name Maluridae in 1975. With further morphological work and the great strides made in DNA analysis towards the end of the 20th century, their position became clear: the Maluridae are one of the many families to have emerged from the great corvid radiation in Australasia. Their closest relatives are the Meliphagidae (honeyeaters), the Pardalotidae, and the Petroicidae (Australian robins). Their obvious similarity to the wrens of Europe and America is not genetic, but simply the consequence of convergent evolution between more-or-less unrelated species that share the same ecological niche. Genera The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World. ... Genus Many: see text The Old World Warblers, family Sylviidae, are a group of more than 280 small insectivorous passerine bird species. ... Genera almost 50: see text The Old World babblers are a large family of Old World passerine birds. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... Charles Sibley (August 7, 1917 - April 12, 1998) was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ... Genera Anthochaera Acanthagenys Plectorhyncha Philemon Xanthornyzma Entomyzon Manorina Xanthotis Meliphaga Lichenostomus Melithreptus Notiomystis Glycichaera Lichmera Trichodere Grantiella Phylidonyris Ramsayornis Conopophila Acanthorhynchus Certhionyx Myzomela Anthornis Prosthemadera Epthianura Ashbyia The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also... Subfamilies Pardalotinae Dasyornithinae Acanthizinae The large and diverse passerine bird family Pardalotidae includes the pardalotes, scrubwrens, thornbills, gerygones and allies. ... Genera Poecilodryas Heteromyias Plesiodryas Gennaeodryas Peneothello Tregellasia Eopsaltria Melanodyas Monachella Microeca Eugerygone Petroica Pachycephalopsis Drymodes The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. ... It has been suggested that Morphological convergence be merged into this article or section. ...

Fairy-wrens are notable for several peculiar behavioral characteristics. They are socially monogamous and sexually promiscuous, meaning that although they form pairs between one male and one female, each partner will mate with other individuals and even assist in raising the young from such pairings. Males of several species pluck petals of conspicuous colors and display them to females for reasons unknown. The song of fairy-wrens is pleasant and complex, and at least two species (Superb and Splendid) possess, in addition to the alarm calls common to - and universally understood by - most small birds, another vocalization used when confronted by predators. This, termed "Type II Vocalization", is song-like and used when confronted by calling butcherbirds and sometimes other predatory birds, but its purpose is unknown; it is certainly not a warning call. In monogamy (Greek: monos = single/only and gamos = marriage) a person has only one spouse at a time (as opposed to polygamy). ... Promiscuity is the practice of making relatively unselective, casual and indiscriminate choices. ... Species The butcherbirds are crow-like birds in the genus Cracticus native to Australasia. ...

Species of Maluridae (part of the super-family Meliphagoidea)

• Subfamily Malurinae, tribe Malurini
  • Purple-crowned Fairy-wren, Malurus coronatus
  • Superb Fairy-wren, Malurus cyaneus
  • Splendid Fairy-wren, Malurus splendens
  • Variegated Fairy-wren, Malurus lamberti
  • Lovely Fairy-wren, Malurus amabilis
  • Blue-breasted Fairy-wren, Malurus pulcherrimus
  • Red-winged Fairy-wren, Malurus elegans
  • White-winged Fairy-wren, Malurus leucopterus
  • Red-backed Fairy-wren, Malurus melanocephalus
• Subfamily Malurinae, tribe Stipiturini
  • Southern Emu-wren, Stipiturus malachurus
  • Mallee Emu-wren, Stipiturus mallee
  • Rufous-crowned Emu-wren, Stipiturus ruficeps
• Subfamily Amytornithinae
  • Grey Grasswren, Amytornis barbatus
  • Black Grasswren, Amytornis housei
  • White-throated Grasswren, Amytornis woodwardi
  • Carpentarian Grasswren, Amytornis dorotheae
  • Striated Grasswren, Amytornis striatus
  • Short-tailed Grasswren, Amytornis merrotsyi
  • Eyrean Grasswren, Amytornis goyderi
  • Thick-billed Grasswren, Amytornis textilis
  • Dusky Grasswren, Amytornis purnelli
  • Kalkadoon Grasswren, Amytornis ballarae

Familiae Petroicidae Pardalotidae Meliphagidae Maluridae Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. ... Binomial name Malurus cyaneus Latham, 1783 The Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) is the best-known of all fairy-wrens, and in south-eastern Australia is frequently known simply as the blue wren. ... Binomial name Malurus lamberti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 The Variegated Fairy-wren, Malurus lamberti, is a fairy-wren that lives in diverse habitats spread across most of Australia. ...

External links

• Maluridae videos on the Internet Bird Collection