White-bellied thicket fantail facts for kids
Quick facts for kids White-bellied thicket fantail |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Rhipidura
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| Species: |
leucothorax
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The white-bellied thicket fantail (Rhipidura leucothorax) is a small, active bird. It belongs to a group of birds called fantails. This bird is special because it has a white belly, which gives it its name!
You can find this bird living in New Guinea. It loves to live in warm, wet places. These include lowland forests and mangrove forests near the coast.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
This bird is a medium-sized bird, about 18 centimeters (7 inches) long. It weighs around 19 to 20 grams, which is very light! Its body is mostly blackish, but its belly is white. It also has cool white spots on its chest and wings. You might see a white spot on the side of its neck too.
Look closely, and you'll see a short white stripe above its eye. The tips of its tail feathers are white. Its legs are dark, from gray to black. This bird often holds its tail up high and fans it out, like a fan! Both male and female fantails look very similar. Young fantails look a bit like the adults, but they are browner. Their beaks are completely black.
The white-bellied thicket fantail looks a bit like two other fantail birds:
- The Black thicket fantail (R. maculipectus). But the white-bellied one has a white chest, which is how you can tell them apart.
- The Sooty thicket fantail (R. threnothorax). This bird does not have a white tip on its tail.
Where It Lives and How It Behaves
Most fantail birds are strong flyers and can travel long distances. However, the white-bellied thicket fantail and its close relatives are not very strong flyers. They need to land often to rest.
These birds are quite shy and hard to spot. They live in thick bushes and forests on plains and hills. You can find them up to 1,350 meters (about 4,400 feet) above sea level. They live in many different places, like:
- Shrubs and thickets near rivers.
- Forests and open woodlands.
- Near forest swamps.
- Along the edges of mangroves.
- Sometimes even in gardens!
Like other fantails, the white-bellied thicket fantail loves to eat insects. They are insect-eaters. They usually hunt for food close to the ground. About 40% of the insects they eat are picked from leaves or branches. The other 20% are caught while flying in the air.
Their voice sounds like a soft, falling sound, followed by a high, ringing note. It sounds like "juu-wee!"
Reproduction and Life Cycle
The white-bellied thicket fantail builds a small, cup-shaped nest. It often has a little "tail" hanging from it. They build their nests using dried reeds and other plant materials. They line the inside with roots, all held together with spider webs!
Nests are usually placed in the forks of branches. They are built about 0.5 meters (about 1.6 feet) off the ground. A female bird usually lays two eggs. The eggs are about 16-19 mm long and 13-14.5 mm wide. They are white with blurry brownish and lilac-gray spots. Most of these spots are in the middle of the egg.
Types of White-bellied Thicket Fantails
Scientists recognize two main types, or subspecies, of the white-bellied thicket fantail. These are:
- R. l. leucothorax (Salvadori, 1874): This type lives in the western part of southeastern New Guinea. You can also find it on Kairiru and Muschu islands, which are north of New Guinea.
- R. l. episcopalis (Ramsay, EP, 1878): This type lives in the eastern part of southeastern New Guinea.
