Nest with chicks of albogularis race at Ananthagiri Hills, in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
The White-throated Fantail, Rhipidura albicollis, is a small passerine bird.
The White-throated Fantail breeds across tropical southern Asia from the Himalayas, India and Bangladesh east to Indonesia. This species is found in forest, scrub and cultivation.
Description
nominated race at Narendrapur in Kolkata
The adult White-throated Fantail is about 19 cm long. It has a dark fan-shaped tail, edged in white, and white supercilium and throat. There is otherwise much variation in plumage between races. For example, the Himalayan R. a. canescans is mainly slate grey above and below, with a black eye mask, whereas R. a. albogularis of peninsular India has dark grey upperparts, whitish underparts, and a grey breast band.
Local names for the bird in India include -- Nasoni sorai in Assamese.
Behaviour
albogularis race at Ananthagiri Hills, in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
The White-throated Fantail lays three eggs in a small cup nest in a tree.
The White-throated Fantail is insectivorous, and often fans its tail as it moves through the undergrowth.
Not normally renowned as a songster, the male of R. a. albogularis, the peninsular race, uses a fixed and unmistakable pattern of musical notes in its call. The notes are loud and normally divided into two stanzas - the first with 5-6 trilling notes rising and falling, followed by 4-5 notes rising up the scale and ending in the highest note.
Birds use the same song year after year, with progressively small changes, with the result that the song sounds very different after 4-5 years. The male's call is a valuable tool in detection and identification of the bird, which can often be confused with the White-browed Fantail, R. aureola, where their ranges overlap. R. aureola has light underparts and prominent spots in two rows on the wings. Its call is rather functional, and not as pleasant and aesthetic as that of R. albicollis.
Gallery
Nest with chicks of albogularis race at Ananthagiri Hills, in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Nest with chicks of albogularis race at Ananthagiri Hills, in Rangareddy district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
at Narendrapur in Kolkata, India.
nest after use at Narendrapur in Kolkata, India.
nest after use at Narendrapur in Kolkata, India.
at nest in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India.
at nest in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India.
at nest in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India.
at nest in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh, India.
at Mulund, Mumbai outside the balcony
