Sighting of a Red-backed Fairy-wren Malurus melanocephalus in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales

Abstract

This note records a sighting of a male Red-backed Fairy-wren Malurus melanocephalus, identified readily by its distinctive breeding plumage, in Hazelbrook in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Although the species appears to have historically occurred in the Sydney region, its distribution contracted north soon after European settlement, with modern records placing Dungog and the Myall Lakes area as the southern limits. Our sighting occurred ~180 km south-west of these locations. This bird may have been an escapee from captivity or a vagrant, or there may be an established population of the species in the vicinity that is yet to be documented. It was observed in a flock of brown-coloured fairy-wrens; however, we were not certain whether these individuals were conspecifics or other species of fairy-wrens.