Rufous fantail
| Rufous fantail | |
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| Adult | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Rhipiduridae |
| Genus: | Rhipidura |
| Species: | R. rufifrons |
| Binomial name | |
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Rhipidura rufifrons (Latham, 1801) |
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| = Extant (resident) = Extant (non breeding) | |
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, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. In these countries they inhabit rainforests, wet forests, swamp woodlands and mangroves.
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.
The rufous fantail has complex evolutionary relationships and sometimes this results in conflicting taxonomy. This is not uncommon since taxonomies are merely hypotheses of a species' evolutionary status. Debate is still currently ongoing about the taxonomic treatment of the rufous fantail's subspecies and its related species.
The rufous fantail was first described by Latham in his 1801 work, Index Ornithologicus initially as Muscicapa ruffifrons. It was later reclassified into the genus Rhipidura by Vigors and Horsfield. The rufous fantail's scientific name is consequently Rhipidura ruffifrons. Rhipidura is derived from Greek: ρϊπός (pronounced rhipido), meaning fan-like and οὐρά (pronounced oura), meaning tail. Ruffifrons comes from two Latin words: rufus meaning red and frons meaning the forehead.
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Wikipedia