The Australian rufous fantail 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.
Region
Eastern and northern Australia
Typical Environment
Occupies moist forests including rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, mangroves, and dense riparian thickets. It favors shaded gullies with rich understorey and ferny groundcover, often near flowing water. In the non-breeding season it can also use coastal thickets and forest edges. Australian breeders in the southeast shift northward after nesting, and many individuals occur seasonally in northern Queensland and adjacent New Guinea.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The Australian rufous fantail is an energetic insect-hunter that constantly fans its tail and flicks its wings while foraging in the understorey. Southern populations migrate north after breeding, with many spending the non-breeding season in northern Australia or New Guinea. It builds a neat, cobweb-bound cup nest often suspended over a stream or in a shaded gully.
Adult on forest floor, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia.
Adult on nest in Iluka, New South Wales, Australia.
Perched adult in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
Aftermath of logging in Tasmania, Australia
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile sallies
Social Behavior
Pairs defend small territories during breeding and build a delicate cup nest, often over water. Both parents incubate and feed the young, and may raise two broods in good seasons. Outside breeding, they may join mixed-species foraging flocks in the understorey.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
High, thin whistles and rapid, scolding chattering notes delivered in short bursts. Calls are sharp ‘tsip’ or ‘chip’ contact notes interspersed with squeaky trills when excited.
Plumage
Warm rufous head, rump and tail with a contrasting white throat and a dark, mottled to blackish breast band. Upperparts are brownish, underparts buffy to whitish, and the broad, fanned tail shows rufous with a darker terminal band. Feathers are soft and flexible, aiding in agile, fluttering foraging among dense foliage.
Diet
Feeds mainly on small flying and gleaned insects such as flies, moths, beetles, and their larvae, as well as spiders and other small arthropods. It uses quick sallies from low perches and agile fluttering to flush prey from foliage. Tail-fanning and wing-flicking likely help disturb insects hidden in leaves and fern fronds.
Preferred Environment
Forages in dense, shaded understorey of wet forests, ferny gullies, and along creeks. Also works forest edges and mangroves, especially during the non-breeding season when it ranges more widely.
