TIME PARTITIONING AND SUBSTRATE USE OF RED-BACKED FAIRY-WRENS Malurus melanocephalus
| Posted: |
10/04/2021 |
| Author(s): |
Joanne Heathcote, Sarah M. Legge, Silvanna Garcia, Stephen A. Murphy |
Red-backed Fairy-wrens Malurus melanocephalus are small insectivorous birds that inhabit Australia’s tropical and
subtropical savannas. We studied a colour-banded population in the Kimberley, Western Australia, to describe how they
partition their time among the main habitat elements within their savanna environment. Eighty-nine focal watches on 29
individuals showed that Red-backed Fairy-wrens spend most of the cooler parts of their day foraging (60%), then
preening/loafing (17%), then being vigilant (14%). Behaviours were not randomly undertaken across substrates, with
foraging most common in grass, vigilance most common in Acacia spp. and preening/loafing most common in the
thorny shrub, Carissa lanceolata. There was no significant relationship between sex and substrate or activity, suggesting
that during the dry season males and females have similar time budgets.
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