Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about 15 to 18 cm long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian willie wagtail is a little larger, and, though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey.
The Indian spotted creeper is a small passerine bird, which is a member of the subfamily Salpornithinae which is placed along with the treecreepers in the family Certhiidae. This small bird has a marbled black and white plumage that makes it difficult to spot as it forages on the trunks of dark, deeply fissured trees where it picks out insect prey using its curved bill. It is found in patchily distributed localities mainly in the dry scrub and open deciduous forests of northern and central peninsular India. It does not migrate. Their inclusion along with the treecreepers is not certain and some studies find them more closely related to the nuthatches while others suggest a close relation to the wallcreeper. They lack the stiff tail feathers of treecreepers and do not use their tail for supporting them while creeping vertically along tree trunks.
The grey fantail is a small insectivorous bird. There is no sexual dimorphism. It is a common fantail found in Australia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. The species is considered by many to be conspecific with the New Zealand fantail ; however, differences in its calls lead some authorities to treat it as a separate species. The studies of grey fantail in 1999 by Richard Schodde and Ian Mason recommended that Tasmanian grey fantail was formally classified as R. albiscapa and New Zealand fantails populations as R. fuliginosa
The red-rumped swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The Indian and African birds are resident, but European and other Asian birds are migratory. They winter in Africa or India and are vagrants to Christmas Island and northern Australia.
The grey-breasted prinia or Franklin's prinia is a wren-warbler belonging to the family of small passerine birds found mainly in warmer southern regions of the Old World. This prinia is a resident breeder in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and southeast Asia. Like other prinias, it often holds the tail upright but it is easily told by a smoky grey band across the breast which contrasts with a white throat. The beak is all black while the legs are pink. The tail is graduated as in other prinias and the grey feathers are tipped in white. In the breeding plumage the upperparts are grey while non-breeding birds are pale above with rufous wings and a weak supercilium. It is found in scrub, forest clearings and other open but well vegetated habitats. It can be confused with the rufescent prinia.
The lesser yellownape is a type of woodpecker which is a widespread and often common breeder in tropical and sub-tropical Asia, primarily the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It ranges from India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka eastwards to Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Much of the scientific knowledge gathered about this species is sourced from formal studies in various parts of India.
The tawny-bellied babbler also known in older Indian works as the rufous-bellied babbler is a small babbler that forages in small groups in low scrub forests. Like other members of the large Old World babbler family they are passerine birds characterised by soft fluffy plumage. There are three subspecies within the Indian Subcontinent. The nominate hyperythra found in northern and eastern India is uniformly brown underneath while albogularis of the western Indian peninsula is white throated. The population in Sri Lanka, phillipsi, is also white throated but is paler underneath and has a larger bill.
The chestnut-tailed starling, also called grey-headed starling and grey-headed myna is a member of the starling family. It is a resident or partially migratory species found in wooded habitats in India and Southeast Asia. The species name is after the distribution of a former subspecies in the Malabar region. While the chestnut-tailed starling is a winter visitor to peninsular India, the closely related resident breeding population with a white head is now treated as a full species, the Malabar starling.
The white-throated fantail is a small passerine bird. It is found in forest, scrub and cultivation across tropical southern Asia from the Himalayas, India and Bangladesh east to Indonesia. The white-spotted fantail until recently was considered a subspecies.
The white-browed fantail is a small passerine bird belonging to the family Rhipiduridae.
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.
The Pohnpei fantail is a fantail, known as Likepsir in Pohnpeian, which is endemic to the Pacific island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a bird commonly found in forests and at forest edges. It feeds on insects which it gathers by gleaning amongst foliage or by making short dashes while in the air.
The Palau fantail is a species of bird in the fantail family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to Palau.
The white-bellied thicket fantail is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. This species is one of 47 in the genus Rhipidura. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
The New Zealand fantail is a small insectivorous bird, the only species of fantail in New Zealand. It has four subspecies: R. f. fuliginosa in the South Island, R. f. placabilis in the North Island, R. f. penita in the Chatham Islands, and the now-extinct R. f. cervina formerly on Lord Howe Island. It is also known by its Māori names, pīwakawaka, tīwakawaka or piwaiwaka, and the Chatham Island subspecies by the Moriori name tchitake; the common pied morph is also known as pied fantail, and the uncommon dark morph is also known as black fantail. The species has been considered by many to be conspecific as the grey fantail of Australia and New Caledonia; however, due to significant differences in its calls, many authorities now treat it as a separate species.
The Lord Howe fantail, also known as the Lord Howe Island fantail or fawn-breasted fantail, was a small bird in the fantail family, Rhipiduridae. It is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand fantail. It was endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia.
The Chinese rubythroat is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is closely related to the Siberian rubythroat which however lacks the distinctive white tail-tips and white tail bases. It was also previously considered conspecific with the Himalayan rubythroat, together called the white-tailed rubythroat. It is found along the Himalayan ranges from Pakistan to Myanmar.
The white-gorgeted fantail is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to the island of Malaita in the Solomon Islands. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the white-winged fantail. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Fiji streaked fantail is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae that is endemic to the islands of Fiji. It was formerly considered to be subspecies of the streaked fantail. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
