Troop Fairy and Solitary Fairy

There are two distinct species of the fairy family: the Troop Fairy and the Solitary Fairy. The former live in troops of fatara whereas the latter always live alone. Troop Fairies wear a green livery, sometimes embellished with a red cap ornamented with a white feather, while Solitary Fairies dress entirely in red.

Troop Fairies live inside hollow hills or in the great mounds of earth, known as barrows or tumuli, which prehistoric tribes erected either as forts or as monuments to dead chieftains. Mortals are strongly advised to avoid these after dark, especially during a full moon.

The notion that there is a separate habitat known as Fairyland is erroneous. Fairies co-exist with us in our own world, which is fairyland enough for all who have eyes to see its magical beauty.

Troop Fairies who joined human migrations to the New World commonly choose natural features with some resemblance to the tumuli or barrows as their residence. As in Europe, they tend to retreat within them during the cold winter months and emerge again during spring. Fairy signs are often sighted in the New World. The Aborigines of Australia say that the swirls of dust seen along bush tracks are infallible indications of a fairy army on the march.