Rennell Fantail
Rhipidura rennelliana
Mostly mouse-brown with a slightly paler throat and a russet wingbar. Long tail, often fanned, has pale fringes. Avoids open areas, staying mostly in primary forest. The only fantail on Rennell. Common call is a high-pitched upslurred rasp.
Identification
The plumage is mostly mouse-brown, while the color of throat is somewhat paler. There is a reddish stripe on the wing. The long tail, which the bird often spreads, is with a pale fringe. Avoids open spaces, preferring forest (mostly virgin ones). This is the only fantail on Rennell Island. The usual sound is piercing and squeaky.
Taxonomy
Rennell fantail (R. rennelliana) forms a superspecies with: <p>
- Scientific name
- Rhipidura rennelliana
- Authority
- Mayr, 1931
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Rhipiduridae
- Genus
- Rhipidura
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Creamy-crested Spinetail
Cranioleuca albicapilla
Small, long-tailed bird with a pale head. Light brown, with reddish tail and shoulder patch and pale crown and throat. Found in semi-humid shrubby areas at high elevations, especially along streams, where it forages singly or in pairs low in dense vegetation. Listen for its squeaky song, a choppy, accelerating series of high notes.
Gray Falcon
Falco hypoleucos
Seldom-seen pale gray falcon of inland Australia found in arid grassland and woodland habitats, where it sometimes perches high on communication towers. Pale gray upperparts and white underparts, with faint dark streaks below. Legs fully feathered (unlike the long, bare legs of Brown Falcon). In flight, outer upperwing (“hand”) is noticeably darker than the inner wing and back. Wings not as pointed as hobby or Peregrine Falcon. Pale inland Brown Falcons are often misidentified as this species: note that Gray Falcon is unlikely to be seen perched in low bushes or feeding from the ground.
Mouse-colored Penduline-Tit
Anthoscopus musculus
A tiny drab bird with a sharp bill. Note gray back, whitish underparts, and faintly black-speckled forehead. Generally uncommon in dry savanna and thornscrub, usually found in pairs or small flocks. Similar to Sennar and African Penduline-Tits, but grayer on the back and paler below. Can also be mistaken for Yellow-bellied or Yellow-vented Eremomelas, but has a shorter and thinner bill and no yellow on the underparts. Vocalizations include high-pitched “sit” notes and long trills.
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