Superb FairywrenEclipse plumage
When the mating season is over, the breeding males of the Superb Fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus) will moult their feathers, shedding their blue feathers for a plain grey-brown colour, in a process known as “eclipse”. The “eclipse plumage” may remain for up to eight months, whilst others may only be in the plain plumage for a few weeks.
During the moulting period, the male Superb Fairy-wren will look similar to the female of the species, as it loses the blue feathers in exchange for an ‘eclipse’ plumage. It is certainly rare for the male Superb Fairy-wren to moult from blue to blue. Most male Superb Fairy-wrens will moult twice in a year,
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- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Informal: Gnathostomata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Suborder: Passeri
- Informal: Passerida
- Family: Maluridae
- Subfamily: Malurinae
- Genus: Malurus
- Subgenus: infrageneric Malurus
- Species: Malurus cyaneus
Footnote & References
- Photographs © Marc Newman, Flickr, https://flickr.com/photos/koolbee/albums
Superb FairywrenEclipse plumage
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