 The splendid fairywren is widely distributed in the arid and semi-arid zones of Australia.Habitat is typically dry and shrubby; mulga and mallee in drier parts of the country and forested areas in the southwest.The western subspecies "splendens" and eastern black-backed fairywren (subspecies "melanotus") are largely sedentary, although the turquoise fairywren (subspecies "musgravei") is thought to be partially nomadic.