Includes Gilolo Fantail
- Rhipidura rufifrons
Identification
15·5–17·5 cm (6-6¾ in)
- Rufous forehead
- Greyish-brown crown, face, nape and mantle
- More rufous tones to lower back, rump and upper tail
- Reddish-brown eyebrows
- White chin and throat
- Black and white spotted breast
- Whitish underparts, tinged brown
Distribution
Australasia: found in north and east Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Guam, Sulawesi and eastern Indonesia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies torrida may be split as "Gilolo Fantail" (R. torrida)
Subspecies
Subspecies intermedia
Photo © by Ken Doy
Eddie Santagiuliana Way, Brisbane, Queensland, September 2017
Photo © by Ken Doy
Eddie Santagiuliana Way, Brisbane, Queensland, September 2017
There are 18 subspecies [1], several of which may warrant specific status:
- R. r. torrida: "Gilolo Fantail". Northern Moluccas (Halmahera, Ternate, Bacan and Obi)
- R. r. louisiadensis: D'Entrecasteaux and Louisiade archipelagos
- R. r. uraniae: Guam (Mariana Islands) - extinct
- R. r. saipanensis: Mariana Islands (Saipan and Tinian)
- R. r. mariae: Mariana Islands (Agiguan and Rota)
- R. r. versicolor: Yap (Caroline Islands)
- R. r. melaenolaema: Vanikoro (Santa Cruz Islands)
- R. r. agilis: Santa Cruz Group (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. utupuae: Utupua (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. commoda: Bougainville, Choiseul and adjacent Solomon Islands
- R. r. rufofronta: Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. granti: Central Solomon Islands
- R. r. russata: San Cristóbal (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. brunnea: Malaita (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. kuperi: Santa Anna (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. ugiensis: Ugi (Solomon Islands)
- R. r. intermedia: Eastern Queensland (Cooktown to New South Wales border); winters to north
- R. r. rufifrons: South-eastern Australia (north-eastern New South Wales to southern and central Victoria); winters to north
Habitat
Close to the ground in shady areas of rainforests, dense wet forests, swamp woodlands and mangroves. May occur in more open and urban habitats on migration.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of small insects such as bugs, beetles and flies.
Vocalisation
Voice is very small and high pitched.. a quick kik kik kik cwit.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
- Birds in Backyards
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Rufous Fantail. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Rufous_Fantail
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
