(Dirk Hartog Island)
Malurus leucopterus leucopterus
White-winged Fairy-wren
(Barrow Island)
Malurus leucopterus edouardi
Three subspecies of the White-winged Fairy-wren Malurus leucopterus are recognised. The Australian mainland subspecies, M. l. leuconotus, is found from inland Qld, NSW and north-west Victoria to mid-coastal WA. The other two subspecies occur on islands off the WA coast. M. l. leucopterus is restricted to Dirk Hartog Island which forms the western boundary of Shark Bay. M. l. edouardi is restricted to Barrow Island which lies north east of Exmouth Gulf. The Barrow Island subspecies possibly once occurred on Trimouille Island of the Monte Bello Group.
On Dirk Hartog Island White-winged Fairy-wrens are widespread from the coastal dunes to the summit of the island. They occur in various habitats, including thickets of mallee eucalypts, low scrub dominated by Acacia, Diplolaena and spinifex, broad flats of salt bush, dense low Melaleuca and Thryptomene heaths, and clumps of spinifex and Sea Grass. On Barrow Island the subspecies occurs in hummock grasslands growing on sand plains, sandhills or interdunes. These may include emergent shrubs, or thickets of shrubs, such as Necklace Acacia and Bats Wing Coral Tree.
On Dirk Hartog Island nests are usually placed close to ground level in a well-concealed position within a small shrub. On Barrow Island nests are usually placed in the top of a hummock of spinifex. Little is known about the diet of these birds, but mainland populations consume mostly insects, especially beetles (Coleoptera), but also other invertebrates (e.g. spiders), and occasionally seeds and fruits.
These two subspecies are listed as vulnerable in the Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000 because Barrow and Dirk Hartog Islands are so narrow, and the habitat so uniform, that the populations are deemed vulnerable to catastrophe. |
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Conservation 
