Ultraviolet

Frances’s Inspiration: “Having recently completed a commissioned painting of this species, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the urge to paint more of these extraordinary birds possessed me. During my guided bird photography tour to WA, I was amazed to see plenty of these fairy-wrens in suburban and bush environments. Indeed, I got the impression that many local residents almost take them for granted! I’ve deliberately added touches of yellow to the background, since it is the complementary of violet. The birds are painted larger than life size, as I want the viewer to more easily appreciate the mesmerising beauty of these birds, whom I believe rival the birds of paradise.

Purple plumage is considered the rarest colour in bird plumage, requiring specific structural colouration. Splendid Fairy-wren plumage is also highly iridescent, due to the flattened and twisted surface of the barbules. The blue-violet plumage also reflects ultraviolet light strongly, a sort of “here I am” to other Fairy-wrens, whose colour vision extends to this part of the spectrum.

There are four subspecies of Splendid Fairy-wrens, each with differing intensities of purple. I’ve depicted subspecies splendens, the darkest and most richly coloured. As their range spreads from WA across to NSW and QLD, the plumage of the other three subspecies becomes progressively paler. Males in non-breeding plumage resemble females while retaining extensive turquoise in the wing coverts.”

Original artwork by Frances McMahon