The grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) 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 (Rhipidura fuliginosa); 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
Description
This species is mid-to-dark grey or grey-brown above, lighter (often yellowish/orange) below, with a white throat, white markings over the eye, and with (depending on the race) either white-edged or entirely white outer tail feathers. It grows to in length, of which half is the tail, which, as the name implies, is often displayed fanned out. This reveals that the outer tail feathers are light and the centre ones are dark. Some races, such as keasti, have a darker plumage.
This species is easily seen while walking in eucalypt forest, rainforest, mangroves, heath, and wooded habitat. During waking hours, they are almost never still. They flit from perch to perch, sometimes on the ground but mostly on the twigs of a tree or any other convenient object, looking out for flying insects. They are able to catch flying insects using intricate acrobatic chases. The birds are not shy, and will often flit within a few metres of people, especially in forested areas and suburban gardens. In doing so, it is able to catch any small flying insects that may have been disturbed by human activities such as walking or digging. The bird's call is an almost metallic cheek, either as a single sound or (more often) repeated as a chattering.
Taxonomy
Genetics
The populations of Australian fantails are complex and they were all formerly considered conspecific due to their being closely related based on their song, habitat, tail coloration, and clutch size. A recent study shows that R.fuliginosa in New Zealand and Australian R.albiscapa were sister taxa and another fantail species, named R.phasiana in the north coast of Australia, was sister to these two fantail species. Besides, within this subgroup R. albiscapa from Vanuatu and Australia were paraphyletic. Hence, R. albiscapa was found to be polyphyletic.
Geographically isolated units
Numerous birds of southern Australia are characterised by a known biogeographical barrier, the Nullarbor Plain, displaying morphological divergence of subspecies differentiation. Because of the east-west division due to the geographic barrier effect on their morphological divergence, the populations of R. albiscapa could be classified into five subspecies by their characteristics, such as their calls, patterns of plumage, and nest construction.
Five subpopulations of R. albiscapa are shown below:
Rhipidura albiscapa keasti (eastern Australia)
Rhipidura albiscapa albicauda (Inland western Australia)
Rhipidura albiscapa preissi (South western Australia)
Rhipidura albiscapa alisteri (eastern Australia)
Rhipidura albiscapa albiscapa (Tasmania)