Rufous fantail
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Rhipidura rufifrons

The rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons ) is a small passerine bird, most commonly known also as the black-breasted rufous-fantail or rufous-fronted fantail, which can be found in Australia, Indonesia, Micronesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In these countries they inhabit rainforests, wet forests, swamp woodlands and mangroves.

Show More

Characteristic of species that have a large range, the rufous fantail has many subspecies. However the taxonomic treatment of its subspecies and other relatives is still debated. The rufous fantail is easily distinguished by their orange-reddish-brown back, rump and base of tail. They have a black and white breast that grades into a white colour on the chin and throat.

They are migratory, travelling to south-eastern Australia in the spring to breed, and then north in the autumn.

The rufous fantail tends to feed on small insects in the lower parts of the canopy. They are very active birds making short, frequent flights. They may also hop between foliage or on the ground, during foraging.

Although their population is thought to be declining, their relatively large range and abundance make them a species of least concern according to the IUCN.

Show Less

Appearance

Adults are medium-sized birds, generally ranging from 14.5 cm – 18.5 cm in length, averaging at around 15 cm; their wingspan is between 18 cm – 22.5 cm, averaging at around 21 cm. They weigh roughly 10 grams. The male and female of the species look identical. However, females are generally smaller than the males.

Show More

The forehead is a richly reddish-brown colour across the eyes. The eyes have a white arc just below them. The top of the head, back of the neck and the upper back, transition from an olive to reddish-brown colour, which then blends into a blackish-brown, long, fan-shaped tail. This blackish-brown tail, contrasts with the base of the tail, which is tipped with a paler colour, often white.

It has black ear-coverts (feathers over the ears, just below and behind the eyes). The throat is white (in most subspecies), and there is a black bar across the upper breast. Below this, the lower breast is off-white with black scale-like spots which transitions into an off-white colour towards the centre of the abdomen. The eyes, bill and feet of the bird are all a brown colour.

The aforementioned colours do not change during different seasons. However, compared to the adults, the juveniles have generally duller coloured backs and marginally browner tails and underparts. On the other hand, the base of the bill and their legs are a paler brown relative to an adult's.

A physical description that may help distinguishing between the different subspecies can be found in the subspecies section of this article.

The plumage in the immature birds is similar to those of the adults and in both sexes. Adults moult annually prior to the breeding season, and this basic plumage does not vary.

Show Less

Distribution

Geography

The rufous fantail can be found in parts of Australia, southeast Asia, and in the Oceanic regions of Micronesia and Melanesia. They are residents of the Lesser Sunda Islands and the Maluku Islands of Indonesia, southern New Guinea and its associated islands, the Solomon Islands, the Marianas and the Carolinian island of Yap. In Australia, they are found in the northern and eastern coastal regions.

Show More

Certain subspecies tend to be restricted to some ranges. See the subspecies section of this article for more detailed information.

The rufous fantail inhabits moist and moderately dense habitats. Within these areas, it has astonishingly large variations in habitat requirements. They can be found in eucalyptus forests, mangroves, rainforests and woodlands (usually near a river or swamp). Rarely, they have even been found in dry sclerophyll forests. Apart from open grasslands and open arid areas, there are not many major types of landscape in the Australo-Papuan region that cannot be inhabited by at least one subspecies of the rufous fantail.

Rufous fantails will generally occupy the lower levels of their habitat, the understorey or the subcanopy, straying no further than 6 m from the ground. Different subspecies may tend to prefer slightly different habitats which can be sometimes discrete or overlapping.

Show Less
Rufous fantail habitat map
Rufous fantail habitat map
Rufous fantail
Attribution-ShareAlike License

Habits and Lifestyle

They are usually observed flitting about in the lower layers of their habitat, in close association with the shade, making short, frequent flights separated by brief moments of perching and sometimes hopping between foliage or onto the ground.

Show More

ly on the move, fidgeting and waving a fanned-out tail.

They are usually observed flitting about in the lower layers of their habitat, in close association with the shade, making short, frequent flights separated by brief moments of perching and sometimes hopping between foliage or onto the ground.

Migration

Some subspecies have slightly differing migration patterns. However, the vast majority exhibit strong migratory behavior – they use the same route year after year and have regular departure and arrival times. They migrate to south-eastern Australia in the spring to breed, beginning in September, peaking in October, and then north in the autumn during March and April. This has been well characterised.

Show Less
Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

They eat mostly small insects and will often join mixed species feeding flocks to do so. These usually comprise other small Passerine birds such as: the spectacled monarch, the little shrikethrush, the large-billed scrubwren and less occasionally, the green-backed honeyeater.

Show More

The rufous fantail is mostly an aerial forager, rarely perching during feeding. Prey are found during almost continuous movement in and between vegetation. They stop (perch) for very short periods of time, during which they fan their tails. Much more rarely, they perch for longer than five seconds to survey surroundings.

Once a prey is located, they will pursue it by exhibiting extremely agile and maneuverable flight within the canopy (by salling, flush-pursuit or flutter-chase).

However, they are versatile foragers, also capable of different foraging methods, occasionally hovering to glean prey from leaves and (very rarely) from the ground and other fallen debris. They have longer legs relative to other Rhipidura species, enabling them to have agile movement on the ground as well.

Show Less

Mating Habits

When they are spotted, they are usually either on their own or in pairs. Although their social bonding is not well known, they nest in pairs and are thought to be monogamous. Males will produce vocal songs to both defend and advertise their territory. Sometimes this can result in intense, rapid and prolonged vocal "battles".

Show More

After pairing, both will search for a suitable breeding site. The female has the final say on nest location. Some males have been known to feed their paired females for up to 2–3 weeks before and during the selection of the nest site and building of the nest. Their breeding sites are mainly in rainforest regions or sheltered, humid gullies with an abundance of dense cover such as trees, saplings, shrubs and vines. The nest, will usually be built at the fork between two nearly horizontal tree branches in proximity to a water source, such as a stream. The structure of the nest is often compared to a wine glass with a broken bottom stand. The nest is built, usually in November, December and January, using thin strips of tree bark, grass, moss rootlets and decayed wood.

The eggs themselves are round or oval in shape and occasionally have a point at one end. Their colour is generally described as somewhere between a pale cream to yellowish white. These have light brown and purplish markings or spots. There are normally 3 or 4 eggs produced in a nest.

Both the males and the females give (frequently alternating) parental care, which includes: feeding their nestlings and removing their faecal sacs from the nest. Whilst only females have actually been observed to incubate (brood) laid eggs, it is assumed males can do this as well.

Four to five weeks after hatching, the young will leave the nest. However, they will remain near their nest (natal area) until they undertake their first migration.

Show Less

Population

Population number

The range of the rufous fantail is very extensive. On this basis it does not have a range small enough to be considered vulnerable (<20,000 km2). Although the population size has not been properly characterised, it is thought to be declining, but not rapidly enough to be placed into vulnerable status. Therefore, the species is of least concern as classified by the IUCN.

References

1. Rufous fantail Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufous_fantail
2. Rufous fantail on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/103710458/112343271
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/629343

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About