Rhipidura drownei
The Bougainville Fantail, Rhipidura drownei, is a distinctive passerine bird endemic to the islands of Bougainville and Buka. Averaging around 14-16 cm in length and weighing about 9-11 grams, this fantail is characterized by its largely sooty-black to dark grey plumage, contrasting sharply with a pale whitish throat and a narrow, often indistinct, white postocular stripe. Its most striking field mark is its broad, constantly fanning tail, which it uses with acrobatic grace while foraging. Ta...
This species primarily inhabits montane tropical rainforests and cloud forests, typically found at elevations between 600 and 1,700 meters above sea level, occasionally ranging higher to 2,000 meters.
Its diet consists almost exclusively of small to medium-sized insects, including flies, mosquitoes, beetles, and small moths, which are primarily captured through aerial hawking.
The Bougainville Fantail is a highly active and restless bird, constantly flitting through the understory and mid-canopy during daylight hours. It is an expert aerial insectivore, employing a 'sally-and-snap' foraging technique, darting out from a perch to snatch flying insects mid-air, often acc...
The Bougainville Fantail is strictly endemic to the island of Bougainville and the adjacent smaller Buka Island, both politically part of Papua New Guinea, but geographically within the Solomon Islands archipelago. It is a resident species, meaning there are no migratory movements, and individual...
Least Concern
- The Bougainville Fantail is one of Papua New Guinea's endemic bird species, found only on Bougainville and Buka islands. - Its name reflects its geographic isolation to the island of Bougainville. - This fantail is an acrobatic master, capable of complex aerial maneuvers while catching insects....