Vanuatu Streaked Fantail
Rhipidura spilodera
Small, with a long, often fanned tail. Gray above with a brownish back, speckled white chest, and elegant white eyebrow and cheek stripe. Found in forest and forest edge, avoiding open areas. Similar to Gray Fantail, but note patterned chest. Song is a series of high-pitched tinkling notes, and calls include dry, raspy “chep”s.
Taxonomy
The Vanuatu streaked fantail was formally described in 1870 by the English zoologist George Gray from a specimen that had been obtained from the island of Vanuatu by the collector Julius Brenchley. Gray coined the binomial name Rhipidura spilodera. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek spilos meaning "spot" with dera meaning "neck". This species was formerly treated as a subspecies of the streaked fantail (now the New Caledonian streaked fantail).
- Scientific name
- Rhipidura spilodera
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1870
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhipiduridae
- Genus
- Rhipidura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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