Bird Album
Emperor Fairywren
Malurus cyanocephalus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)
13–16 cmLength12 gWeight
The emperor fairywren (Malurus cyanocephalus) is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae.
Busiest months: July–August · Most records: Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
Where and when it's recorded
Emperor Fairywren has been recorded at 22 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.
Records by month Southern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Boystown Road – Bowerbird HillPapua New Guinea75 records
- Sorong MangrovesIndonesia52 records
- Nimbokrang – Jalan Korea swamp forestIndonesia47 records
More places
- Kwatu LodgePapua New Guinea45 records
- Elevala and Ketu RiversPapua New Guinea31 records
- NimbokrangIndonesia29 records
- Boys Town Road, KiungaPapua New Guinea28 records
- Drimgas Road, KiungaPapua New Guinea25 records
- Brown River/Vanapa River lowlandsPapua New Guinea25 records
- Elevala River – between Fly River and Ketu RiverPapua New Guinea16 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The emperor fairywren (Malurus cyanocephalus) is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is found in New Guinea in its natural habitat of subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is the largest species of fairywren.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Emperor Fairywren?
The Emperor Fairywren is about 13–16 cm long and weighs around 12 g.
Where does the Emperor Fairywren live?
Its breeding range: Australasia: New Guinea. It is most often recorded in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
When is the best time to see the Emperor Fairywren?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in July and August (Southern Hemisphere).
Is the Emperor Fairywren endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Emperor Fairywren as Least Concern.
What does the Emperor Fairywren eat?
Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.
What family is the Emperor Fairywren in?
It belongs to the family Australasian Wrens (Maluridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- 13–16 cm
- Weight
- 12 g
- Habitat
- Forest
- Diet
- Insects & other invertebrates
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 58 mm
- Tail
- 58 mm
- Bill
- 18 mm
- Tarsus
- 24 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Australasia: New Guinea
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Australasian Wrens Maluridae
- Genus
- Malurus
Other birds in the genus Malurus
Lovely FairywrenMalurus amabilis
Purple-backed FairywrenMalurus assimilis
Variegated FairywrenMalurus lamberti
Blue-breasted FairywrenMalurus pulcherrimus
Red-winged FairywrenMalurus elegans
Superb FairywrenMalurus cyaneus
Splendid FairywrenMalurus splendens
Purple-crowned FairywrenMalurus coronatus
White-shouldered FairywrenMalurus alboscapulatus
Red-backed FairywrenMalurus melanocephalus
White-winged FairywrenMalurus leucopterus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Wahhab Al'azis. ↗
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