Streaked fantail

Rhipidura verreauxi

Photo by Josep del Hoyo (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
streaked fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-malhado (pt); rhipidure tacheté (fr); abanico moteado (es); fleckenfächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhipiduridae

Range:
This species is found in the Pacific archipelagos of New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.

Size:
These birds are 17-18 cm long and weigh 11,5-15 g.

Habitat:
The streaked fantail is mostly found in moist tropical forests, including forest edges and partially cleared forests, but also use moist scrublands and gardens.

Diet:
They forage in the lower canopy and, to a lesser extent, in the undergrowth, taking various insects.

Breeding:
Streaked fantails breed in September-February. The nest is built by both sexes, consisting of a neat cup made of fine twigs held together with spider webs. The female lays 2-3 white eggs with brown spots, which are incubated by both parents for 15-16 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 15 days after hatching.

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

Blue-headed fantail

Rhipidura cyaniceps

Photo by Pamela Rasmussen (Avian Vocalizations Center)

Common name:
blue-headed fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-de-cabeça-azul (pt); rhipidure à tête bleue (fr); abanico cabeciazul (es); blaukopf-fächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhipiduridae

Range:
This species is endemic to The Philippines, being found in Luzon, Catanduanes, Negros, Panay, Masbate and some nearby smaller islands.

Size:
These birds are 18 cm long and weigh 13-15 g.

Habitat:
The blue-headed fantail is mostly found in lowland rainforests, but also uses mountain rainforests and degraded patches of former forest.

Diet:
They hunt insects in flight.

Breeding:
There is no available information regarding the reproduction of this species.

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

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.

Pied fantail

Rhipidura javanica

Photo by Peter Ericsson (Oriental Bird Images)

Common name:
pied fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-bicolor (pt); rhipidure pie (fr); cola de abanico pálido (es); Malaienfächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhipiduridae

Range:
This species is found from southern Myanmar and Laos to western Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines.

Size:
These birds are around 18-19 cm long and weigh 11-14 g.

Habitat:
The pied fantail is found in a wide range of habitats including mangroves, various dry and moist tropical forests, dry savannas, scrublands, inland wetlands, plantations, orchards, urban areas and sometimes also in sandy or rocky intertidal areas.

Diet:
These birds are insectivorous. They mainly pick ants and other insects from the ground, but can also catch dragonflies and other insects in mid-air.

Breeding:
Pied fantails breed in February-July. Both sexes build the nest, a neat cone made of stiff plant fibres held together with spider webs. It is lashed onto the fork of thin branches in a scrub or leafy creeper, or sometimes on a bamboo stem. There the female lays 2 yellowish-white eggs with brown spots, which are incubated for 12-15 days. The chicks fledge 14-15 days after hatching.

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

Willie wagtail

Rhipidura leucophrys

Photo by Jason Girvan (Animal Pictures Archive)

Common name:
willie wagtail (en); cauda-de-leque-de-garganta-preta (pt); rhipidure hochequeue (fr); abanico lavandera (es); gartenfächerschwanz (de)


Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Rhipiduridae


Range:
This species is found throughout mainland Australia, and also in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Moluccas.


Size:
These birds are 18-22 cm long and weigh 20 g.


Habitat:
These birds are mostly found in open woodlands and forests, but also in scrublands, second growths, areas along rivers, bogs and marshes, in plantations and urban areas.


Diet:
They mostly catch insects by hawking from low branches or fences, but also glean insects from foliage and collect soil invertebrates. They are known to eat butterflies, moths, flies, gnats, beetles, dragonflies, bugs, spiders, centipedes, and millipedes, and have been recorded killing small lizards such as skinks and geckos.


Breeding:
Willie wagtails can breed all year round, but with a peak in August-February. The nest is a neatly woven cup of grasses, covered with spider webs on the outside and lined internally with soft grasses, hair or fur. The nest is placed in an horizontal branch or similar structure. The female lays 2-4 pale cream eggs with brownish markings, which are incubated by both sexes for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 14 days after hatching.


Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and is reported to be common to very common. The population is suspected to be increasing as ongoing habitat degradation is creating new areas of suitable habitat.

Rufous fantail

Rhipidura rufifrons

Photo by T. Oliver (Birds in Backyards)

Common name:

rufous fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-ruivo (pt), rhipidure roux (fr); cola de abanico rufo (es); fuchsfächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Rhipiduridae

Range:

The rufous fantail is found in northern and eastern coastal Australia, being more common in the north. It is also found in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Sulawesi and Guam.

Size:

These birds are 15-16 cm long and weigh 10 g.

Habitat:

They are generally found in rainforests, monsoon forests, mid-mountain forests, riparian vegetation, swamp woodlands, wet eucalypt forest and mangroves. During migratory movements they can also be found in urban areas.

Diet:

Rufous fantails are insectivorous, gleaning the middle and lower levels of the canopy for a wide range of insects.

Breeding:

These birds breed in October-February. They build a small, compact, cup nest, made of fine grasses bound with spider webs, that is suspended from a tree fork about 5 m above the ground. The female lays 2-3 cream eggs with brown spots, which are incubated by both sexes for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 13-15 days after hatching. Each pair may raise 1-2 broods per season.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

This species has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is reported to be uncommon to locally very common. This population is suspected to be in decline owing to the loss of habitat used for breeding and migration corridors, but overall it is not considered threatened at present.

Grey fantail

Rhipidura fuliginosa

Common name:

grey fantail (en); cauda-de-leque-cinzento (pt); rhipidure gris (fr); abanico gris (es); graufächerschwanz (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Rhipiduridae

Range:

Grey fantails are found throughout Australia and Tasmania, in New Zealand, New Guinea, the Solomon islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

Size:

These birds are 14-16 cm long and weigh 9 g.

Habitat:

The grey fantail is found in a wide variety of habitats from forest and woodland to coastal scrub and gardens.

Diet:

They feed on flying insects, which they catch by chasing them from the edge of foliage at all levels in the canopy.

Breeding:

Grey fantails breed in July-January. Both sexes build the nest, a compact cup, usually placed in the forks of trees, made from moss, bark and fibre, and often completed with spider webs. The female lays 2-4 cream eggs with grey and brown spots, which are incubated by both parents for 14 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 12 days after hatching. Each pair can raise several broods per season.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least concern)

Although the global population size is yet to be quantified, this species is described as common to locally abundant over its very large breeding range. The trend direction for this population is difficult to determine owing to the positive and negative processes affecting the species, but overall the grey fantail is not considered threatened at present.