Southern emu-wren

The southern emu-wren is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, and swamplands.

Loading map...

Distribution

Region

Southern Australia

Typical Environment

Occurs patchily across coastal and near-coastal southern Australia, including southwestern Western Australia, South Australia (including Kangaroo Island), Victoria, southeastern New South Wales, and Tasmania. It is tied to dense heathlands, sedgelands, coastal tea-tree thickets, and swamplands where it can move under cover. Birds typically keep to low vegetation, rarely venturing into open ground. Fire and clearing can fragment populations, and recolonization is slow where connectivity is poor.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 600 m

Climate Zone

Temperate

Characteristics

Size14–16 cm (including very long tail)

Wing Span12–15 cm

Male Weight0.007 kg

Female Weight0.006 kg

Life Expectancy4 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

Named for its shaggy, hair-like tail feathers that resemble an emu’s plumage, the southern emu-wren is a tiny, secretive songbird that rarely leaves dense cover. Males show a vivid sky-blue throat and face, while females lack the blue. The species is highly sensitive to habitat loss and frequent fires, persisting best in extensive, unburnt heath and sedgeland.

Gallery

Stipiturus malachurus hartogi: male (foreground) and female

Behaviour

Temperament

shy and skulking

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats, weak low flights through dense cover

Social Behavior

Usually found in pairs or small family groups moving mouse-like through low vegetation. Nests are domed and placed low in dense sedges or shrubs. Pairs maintain small territories year-round and rely on dense cover for protection.

Migratory Pattern

Resident

Song Description

Song is a soft, high-pitched series of thin trills and tinkling notes, often delivered from within cover. Calls include faint tsip and seep sounds that can be hard to locate in wind or surf noise.

Unlock detailed bird insights with Pro access today.

Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Southern fiscal

The southern fiscal or fiscal shrike is a member of the shrike family found through most of southern Africa. It is also sometimes named jackie hangman or butcher bird due to its habit of impaling its prey on acacia thorns to store the food for later consumption. It was previously lumped together with the northern fiscal. Together they were known as the common fiscal.

Southern giant petrel

The southern giant petrel, also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern.

Southern grey-headed sparrow

The southern grey-headed sparrow is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the grey-headed sparrow. It is found in savanna and woodland in Angola and Zambia southwards into South Africa, where it is expanding its range and is kept as a caged bird, like its relative the white-rumped seedeater.

Southern ground hornbill

The southern ground hornbill is one of two species of ground hornbill, both of which are found solely within Africa, and is the largest species in the hornbill order worldwide. It can be found in the southern regions of Africa, ranging from Kenya to South Africa. Within these regions, they inhabit both woodlands and savannas. The other species of the genus Bucorvus is the Abyssinian ground hornbill, B. abyssinicus.