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Mangrove Grey Fantail
(Rhipidura phasiana)
: "Mangrove Fantail"
Size: 14.5-16 cm
Weight: 6-8 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Mangrove Grey Fantails are small fantails.
Apart from two short white eyebrows and two
small white spots above the ear coverts, they have a grey head.
They have a wide throat patch that extends sideways to under
the ear coverts, below which a sooty-grey band is found
across the upper chest. The rest of the front, from the lower
chest to the undertail coverts, is pale-buff to creamy.
The back, including the wings, is all-grey, except for two
white wing bars and inconspicuous white outer edges on the
flight feathers. The long tail, which is often fanned, is dark-grey.
The outer tail feathers have white outer edges.
The eyes have dark irises. The straight bill is dark-grey;
the legs and feet are grey.
Juveniles
have browner colours, with buff-tinged wing bars and head markings.
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Twitcher's tip |
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Compared with Grey
Fantails, they have broader white wing bars and a proportionally
larger bill.
Compared with Northern
Fantails, they have a narrower chest band and otherwise darker
front.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Mangrove
Grey Fantail at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and
specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found,
based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Mangrove Grey Fantail is available
HERE
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Mangrove Grey Fantails are found on some islands of eastern Indonesia,
in parts of New Guinea and along parts of the Australian coastline.
In Australia Mangrove Grey Fantails populate a narrow fringe along
the North and North-West coast of the continent. Their distribution
ranges from about the Wooramel River, WA, in the West to the southern
tip of the Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD, in the East.
Mangrove Grey Fantails live in tropical to subtropical
mangrove.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting a Mangrove Grey Fantail at Leanyer Swamp,
Darwin, NT, in July 2012.
We first spotted a Mangrove Grey Fantail in Darwin, NT, in August
2014, but did not manage to take a photo.
P. Brown reports finding a Mangrove Grey Fantail at Buffalo Creek,
Darwin, NT, in July 2019. Another was found at Ludmilla Creek, Darwin,
NT, in April 2021.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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Lateral view of a Mangrove Grey Fantail (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, July 2012]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Frontal view of a juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail basking in the sun
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, NT, April 2021]
Frontal view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
Frontal view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail with its tail fanned
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
Near-frontal view of a juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, NT, April 2021]
Near-frontal view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
Lateral view of a juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Ludmilla Creek, Darwin, NT, April 2021]
Lateral view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
Lateral view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a
(hypermelanistic?)
juvenile Mangrove Grey Fantail
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2019]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors.
The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.