Animalia Life
Rhipidura rufifrons
TAXONOMY
Muscicapa rufifrons Latham, 1801, Sydney, New South Wales,
Australia. Twenty subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Rufous-fronted fantail; French: Rhipidure roux; German:
Fuchsfдcherschwanz; Spanish: Cola de Abanico Rufo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
5.5–6.7 in (14–17.5 cm); 0.25–0.35 oz (7.2–10 g). Rufousbrown
plumage with mottled throat. Tail color is rufous at
base, to brown middle and whitish tips. White patch from chin
to cheek and upper throat.
DISTRIBUTION
Moluccas and Lesser Sunda Islands, coastal eastern Australia,
New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Solomon Islands, Santa
Cruz Islands, and Micronesia. Located from sea level to 6,600
ft (2,000 m).
HABITAT
Rainforest, monsoon forest, mid-montane forest, riparian vegetation,
swamp woodland, wet eucalypt forest, mangroves; on
migration may occur in open or urban situations.
BEHAVIOR
Usually seen singly, sometimes in pairs. Frequents lower substage
to mid-tree levels. Confiding. Restless; moves with rapid
jerky movements. Strongly migratory in southeast Australia;
tropical birds apparently not sedentary, but nature of movements
uncertain.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Insectivorous. Favors lower and middle levels of foliage. Forages
mainly by gleaning, occasionally by flycatching. Works
quietly along slender outer branches, from the inner section to
the extreme tip. May join mixed feeding parties.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding season varies across range: Oct.–Feb. (Australia),
Aug.–Jan. (New Guinea region), Feb.–Mar. (Micronesia). Sexes
share nest construction, incubation, and care of young, rearing
1–2 broods per season. The nest is a compact cup of fine grass
bound with spider web, with a pendant “tail” about 3 in (7.5
cm) long. The nest is placed in thin fork up to 16.5 ft (5 m)
above the ground. The clutch includes 2–3 eggs; these are
cream with small warm brown and lavender dots, mostly at
large end. Incubation takes about 14 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
In Australia, this species is common in the north, decreasing in
abundance southwards; it is not considered under threat. Several
of the Micronesian populations exist in low numbers and
are potentially susceptible to loss of habitat and introduced
predators.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Rufous fantail
