White-throated fantail

Rhipidura albicollis

Photo by Nabarun Sadhya (Flickr)

Common name:
white-throated fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-de-garganta-branca (pt); rhipidure à gorge blanche (fr); abanico gorgiblanco (es); weißkehl-fächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhipiduridae

Range:
This species is found from north-eastern Pakistan and western India, through Tibet, Nepal and southern China, and into Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodja, Vietnam, Malaysia and also Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.

Size:
These bird are 17,5-20,5 cm long and weigh 9-13 g.

Habitat:
The white-throated fantail is mostly found in rainforests, but also in tropical dry forests, secondary growths, wooded gardens within urban areas, arable land and bamboo thickets. They occur from sea level up to an altitude of 3.000 m.

Diet:
They are insectivorous and forage mostly on the forest undergrowth, along branches and also outside of foliage.

Breeding:
White-throated fantails breed in February-March. The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a cup made of fine grass stems held together by spider webs, with a dangling tail of grasses hanging underneath. There the female lays 3 spotted eggs which are incubated for 12-13 days. The chicks fledge 13-15 days after hatching. Each pair raises 1-2 broods per season.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is described as common. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.