Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

The splendid fairy-wren’s scientific binomial, Malurus splendens, translates as “shining soft tail.” In breeding plumage, the male certainly does shine! His iridescent blues shimmer and stun. Although it dazzles us, the outfit isn’t alone enough to win over a female fairy-wren; in addition to putting on elaborate courtship performances with fanned feathers, extended necks, and curious flight moves, males will pluck pink, purple, or white flower petals and present them to potential mates. Bling bling. 🧚✨

Splendid fairy-wrens live in “home groups” that consist of a socially monogamous pair with additional male and/or female “helper” birds, often offspring raised by the primary pair. These groups range in size from 2-8 birds, and they defend their territory together year-round. While the main pair in each home group bonds for life, both males and females get action on the side. Females often select mates from outside their home group; between 30-60% of a main pair’s offspring are from “extramarital” liaisons, which keeps the gene pool more diverse. No matter the parentage, all home group members assist with the rearing of chicks.

There are four subspecies of splendid fairy-wren. This poster’s color column is based on the nominate species, Malurus splendens splendens, which generally has more saturated blues and violet-blues and a little less black. All the subspecies display similar coloration, however.

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.