The Liáo warbler Malurus splendens are a small bird endemic to Australia and are part of the adorable slender-tailed wren warbler family. Slender-tailed wrens are all small in size and have been mistaken for jiāo or tree warblers in the past. It was not until the late 20th century that ornithologists understood that they had nothing to do with the northern hemisphere wren and tree warblers, and were birds originating in the southern hemisphere, but because of their similar appearance, they were called wren warblers.
Glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler | butupa / Wikimedia Commons
The scientific name Maluridae of the slender-tailed wren warbler is derived from the ancient Greek word meaning slender and delicate tail, which captures the main features of the slender-tailed wren warbler, which has a beautifully slender tail and is always up and wagging.
It is worth complaining that the names of many Australian birds are composed of single-word names of birds in the northern hemisphere, such as jú Cuckooshrike, Woodswallow, quail-thrush, etc., which are very difficult to mouth. The most outrageous is created Shrike-tit, Chinese name is Wēng, which is directly composed of three bird names.
After reading this paragraph, do you still know the word bird? | Tu'ao Ecological Jun
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > blue little star</h1>
In the family, the species closest to the brilliant blue-tailed wren warbler is the ornate slender-tailed warbler Malurus cyaneus, both of which are numerous and widely distributed. Because they all have eye-catching blue feathers, the local Chinese often call them "Smurfs". Genetic studies in 2017 showed that the common ancestor of the brilliant blue-tailed wren warbler and the gorgeous fine-tailed wren warbler diverged from other fine-tailed wren warblers 7 million years ago, and the two began to evolve independently 4 million years ago.
The ornate slender-tailed warbler (left male and right female) | benjamin444 / Wikimedia Commons
The glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler evolved in the southwest of Australia, while the gorgeous slender-tailed wren warbler evolved in southeastern Australia. Because of the drier southwest, the glow blue-tailed wren warbler is now more adaptable to the vast arid regions of central Australia, making it the most widely distributed member of the slender-tailed wren warbler. Rooted in the wetter southeastern part of Australia, the gorgeous slender-tailed wren warbler is now australia's most populous region and is loved by the general population and has become the most popular bird in the 2021 poll.
Obviously, the brighter blue-tailed wren warbler with higher appearance and brighter blue can't even squeeze into the top 50! It's not fair (fan outrage)! But this is inseparable from the fact that the glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler is not adapted to the urban landscape and its distribution area is sparsely populated.
The glow blue-tailed wren warbler is mostly distributed in the arid desert areas of Australia | Ron Knight / Wikimedia Commons
There are currently 4 subspecies of the glow blue-tailed wren warbler. M. s. splendens (nominate subspecies Banded Fairywren) is found in the southwest corner of Australia, M. s. melanotus (Black-backed Fairywren) is distributed in central Australia, M. s. callainus (Turqupise Fairywren) is in the eastern inland of Australia, and M. S. emmottorum is in southern Queensland.
Females have much darker plumage than the blue-tailed warblers| Wikimedia Commons
Although the appearance of these subspecies is not much different, they have been considered independent species in the past because they are distributed so far apart that it is thought that there can be no reproductive communication between them. However, with more exploration of the Australian interior, it has been found that the distribution of the brilliant blue-tailed wren warbler is wider than expected, and in areas where the distribution overlaps, subspecies will also hybridize, and there is no reproductive isolation, so it is classified as a single species.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="67" > a bird that understands romance</h1>
The glow blue-tailed wren warbler is a particularly romantic bird that has mastered a variety of love techniques to please the opposite sex. The most classic manifestation is that the male bird will present flowers to the female bird, which is the traditional skill of the small birds of the genus Slender-tailed Wren Warbler, and they will choose different colors of flowers according to their feather color. For example, the gorgeous slender-tailed wren warbler will use the principle of complementary colors to use yellow petals to set off the blue feathers on its body.
"Brilliant Blue" is by no means a waste of time| patrickkavanagh / Wikimedia Commons
The blue-tailed wren warbler will choose purple petals to hold in its mouth and pass them on to the mouth of the desired female bird to express its love in this way. The reason why the purple petals were chosen may be used to match the blue feathers on the body. The blue of the blue-tailed wren warbler is already blue and purple in the eyes of humans; while the eyes of birds can see ultraviolet rays, so the blue feathers of male birds are more unimaginable colors in their eyes.
Interestingly, the glow blue-tailed wren warbler does not only send flowers during the breeding season, but also does not accompany mating behavior. Sending flowers is a means of connecting and developing feelings for them, and flowers are sent at all seasons of the year.
Males with glow blue slender-tailed warblers who are not in the breeding season are replaced by | similar feathers to those of females patrickkavanagh / Wikimedia Commons
In addition to sending flowers, the way to please the female bird is to sing and dance. The male bird dances a cute dance called the "Seahorse Dance", which slowly rises and falls up and down in the air, like the swimming track of a seahorse, and will try to raise the feathers of the head and neck as much as possible to show its blue color.
The "love song" of the glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler is a "game of death" full of excitement. When a bird of prey flies by and an alarm is heard around, the male will risk singing, because the female will stop all movement and listen intently to the surroundings.
The glowing blue-tailed wren warbler erects its neck feathers | Nevil Lazarus / Wikimedia Commons
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="68" > complex and chaotic family life</h1>
The glowing blue-tailed wren warbler is a small family, with several small birds living together in their own territory. Usually only older males wear blue feathers, young males and females are light brown, and young males are mistaken for females by early naturalists, judging that the glow blue-tailed wren warbler is polygyny.
It was later discovered that the glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler was monogamy. Usually an older male bird and an older female bird are the parents, who will stay together for many years and share the responsibility of brooding, while other young birds act as helpers, some of them are the children of the parents, and some of them are taken in from outside, helping the parents to take care of the newborn baby during the breeding period. This pattern is known as cooperative breeding, which is rare among birds in the Northern Hemisphere but is very common among australian birds.
Glow blue slender-tailed wren warbler | Tu'ao Ecological Jun
The helpers are willing to take care of the young birds, sometimes even the young birds who are not related to themselves, and seem to be selfless and generous. However, some ornithologists believe that this is a helper bird in order to improve their status in the family, and in the future, when the parent has an accident, he will have the opportunity to become the new parent to inherit the territory.
There are also studies that have found that helper birds are sometimes lazy and not good at work, and when they are lazy, they will be reprimanded by their parents, and if they are lazy, they will even be expelled from the family.
The gregarious blue slender-tailed warbler | Fairywren project / Youtube
Even if the helpers are not lazy, their contribution does not increase the survival rate of young birds. Their role is to reduce the burden on parents, so that parents can raise their bodies faster and start the next breed. Sometimes the glow blue-tailed wren warbler reproduces a few weeks after a nest of chicks emerges, producing several litters a year.
Ornithologists have used genetic techniques to find that the phenomenon of marriage and mating of the blue-tailed wren warbler is very common, and almost half of the offspring of some communities are not born to the father of the child. It turns out that whether male or female, although they only have a social mate for life, they will frequently "cheat", often running to the next territory to steal the fun at dawn, and some even have marriages with their own family helpers. Based on this particular and complex situation, ornithologists refer to the "marriage system" of the glow blue-tailed wren warbler as social monogamous (socially monogamous, sexually promiscuous).
Males and females of the glow blue-tailed wren warbler | Alexandre Roux / Flickr
Despite the chaos of their private lives, the small family of the glowing blue-tailed wren warbler is very loving. They will always go out together to take care of each other when they are foraging, and when there is real danger, they will hide in the low bushes. When bathing in a small puddle, it is also orderly, taking turns to be responsible for the sentry to ensure the safety of the family. When idle, the blue-tailed wren warbler will be on a horizontal branch, a small bird will squeeze into a ball to comb each other's hair, and will also exchange positions in the middle, familiar with each other, very cute.
The huddled glow blue-tailed wren warbler | Mark Eatwell / Youtube
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