Last updated on 1-Nov 2017
Bird Overview
The Southern Emu-wren is one of Australia’s smallest birds. A fully-grown emu-wren may reach 19 centimetres long, but its elongated tail feathers comprise about two-thirds of this, making the bird’s body a mere 6 centimetres or so long.
The bird gets its name from its tail feathers, which look rather similar to the feathers of an emu; the emu-wren’s name seems a little incongruous because the emu, standing up to 1.9 metres tall (over ten times larger than the wren), is one of Australia’s largest birds.
Identification
The Southern Emu-wren is a tiny bird with a long (10 cm) filamentous tail, made up of six feathers, which is usually held upright. Male birds are grey-brown streaked black above, warm tawny brown below, with a distinctive blue chin and throat and some blue around the eyes. Females are similar but lack the blue colouration.
Songs and Calls
Soft reedy chirp: ‘prip prip’; males have short descending song like fairy-wrens but higher-pitched. Bird call recorded by: Fred Van Gessel
Location
The Southern Emu-wren is found along the east coast of Australia from south-eastern Queensland through to Tasmania and west to south-eastern South Australia. It is also found along the coast of Western Australia from Shark Bay to Israelite Bay and inland to Norseman.
