The little blue wren or the ‘Superb fairywren’, scientific name Malurus cyaneus is one of my favourite birds to paint! One of the reasons is the colour blue, I love the colour blue but also the little bird itself is a delight the way it flits and hops around feeding mostly on small insects, he is rarely alone and gets about in his family group.
He is often found flittering through dense shrub, in the garden or native bushland and every now and then exposed with his bright blue plumage on display. I can often hear them with their shrill violin like call, preceding them as they move together in their little flock.
The little blue wren that can be seen on the screen I am painting, was spotted in a pretty country town called Cygnet in Tasmania, in a blackberry bush.
It was such a pleasure to be able to paint this little fellow amongst the blackberries. Blackberries also bring about fond memories of picking them around late February/March and making delicious blackberry jam to have with fresh scones and cream. So blue wrens, blackberries and scones all go really well together.
Superb Fairy wrens/ little blue wrens can be found in Tasmania, throughout eastern Australia to South Australia, so quite a well known much loved little bird. I am currently working on a little fellow which I hope to have complete beginning of 2023.