Scientific Name: Rhipidura fuliginosa

Fantails are active flycatchers, characterised by their fanned tail and restless behaviour. These small birds reach about 16cm in length and the plumage is predominantly grey above with the undersides paler. The face is black with a white stripe above the eye and white on the throat. The tail is long and when fanned out is black in the centre, white towards the sides.

Did You Know? This species is so variable that it has been divided up into ten separate races. Five of these occur in Australia, while the others are distributed in New Zealand and other South Pacific islands.

Habitat: Lives over much of Australia and many individuals are nomadic in the non-breeding season. They utilise many different types of vegetated habitat including urban areas and private gardens.

Diet: Mostly flies, mosquitos, moths, etc. Their food is taken on their wing with aid of sensitive bristles around the base of the beak.

Reproduction: The nest is a neat cup, made from grasses, bark and cobwebs, on a horizontal twig. Grey fantails will lay about 2- 4 spotted pale buff eggs. If all the eggs hatch, the nest becomes very crowded by the time the chicks fledge ten days or so later.