Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa

Grey Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
(aka Rhipidura fuliginosa see below)

Grey Fantail, Mt. Wellington, Tasmania,, Australia, February 2006 - click for larger image

Australia
February / March 2006

Grey Fantail R. albiscapa was separated from New Zealand Fantail R. fuliginosa in Schodde & Mason (See pages 479-480)

Grey Fantail, Tahune Airwalk, Tasmania,, Australia, February 2006 - click for larger image

It is distributed in Australia mainly in the south-east including Tasmania, the south-west and centre although it migrates throughout most of Australia in the winter.

It is found in a wide variety of habitats from forest and woodland to coastal scrub and gardens. It was certainly one of the commonest birds seen in our trip to south-east Australia. It is easily seen as it hunts insects on the wing in an acrobatic manner. At rest it fans its tail or flicks it from side to side.

Grey Fantail, Murramarang N.P., NSW, Australia, March 2006 - click for larger image

There are six sub-species. The nominate is found in Tasmania and is seen here in photos 1, 2 and 5. This last photo shows an immature which is browner with buffy marks on the head and wing-coverts. Photos 3 and 4 show the sub-species R. a. alisteri which differs from nominate in having a very dark grey face and larger white tips to the wing coverts. This sub-species is found from South Australia round through Victoria to southern New South Wales.

Photos 6, 7 and 8 show the sub-species R. a. keasti which is distributed in Queensland. It is blacker than the other races with a broader black breastband. Photo 8 shows immatures.

Photos 9 and 10 show the sub-species R. a. preissi from south-west Western Australia. This has a smaller and lighter breast band with a proportionately longer tail with the two central feathers dusky grey-brown.

Grey Fantail, Southport, Tasmania,, Australia, February 2006 - click for larger image

Grey Fantail, Daintree, Queensland, Australia, November 2010 - click for larger image

Grey Fantail, Paluma, Queensland, Australia, December 2010 - click for larger image

Immature Grey Fantail, Paluma, Queensland, Australia, December 2010 - click for larger image

Grey Fantail, Cheynes Beach, Western Australia, October 2013 - click for larger image

Back to Index

If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.