About Stipiturus malachurus (Shaw, 1798)
This species, Stipiturus malachurus, was first described by Shaw in 1798. Adult males have rusty-brown streaked black upperparts, with a more reddish crown and grey-brown wings. They have sky-blue colouring on the throat, upper chest, and eyebrow. Their tail is twice as long as their body, made up of six filamentous feathers, with the two central feathers longer than the lateral ones. Underparts are pale red-brown, and become paler on the belly. Males have a black bill, and brown feet and eyes. Females have darker streaking than males, and lack the blue plumage and redder crown seen in males. Females have a brown bill with a pale grey base. Across its entire range, the southern emu-wren lives in marshes, low heathland, and dune areas. At least one subspecies of this bird is found near the site of the Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex, which is located close to Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia.
