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Grey Fantail catching the sun
Early one morning, after some fairly ferocious rain, everyone was seeking sunlight and somewhere to dry out. This little Grey Fantail sat still on a branch for several minutes. Well, what passes for still, in a fantail’s world!
From the way it’s fluffing out its feathers and holding its wings, I’m sure it’s exposing as much of itself to the sun as possible!
Common name: Grey Fantail
Scientific name: Rhipidura fuliginosa
Approximate length: 14-17 cm
Date spotted: 3 June 2024 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°47’01.7″S 151°15’10.3″E
Grey Fantail waving its tail
Grey Fantails are fairly common around my neck of the woods. The problem is that they move so fast, it’s hard to get them in a camera frame. A couple of days ago, one of the little birds kept going back to the same tree to show off its skills. So, with a bit of patience, I was able to get some video footage:
In the video, you can see the bird’s typical behaviour pattern: it makes its way up a tree trunk, waving its tail, then it drops suddenly down to ground level, before starting again. In the background, the orange Banksia flower heads glow in the sunlight.
Here’s a still picture of that fanned tail catching the light:
A couple of slightly-fuzzy images give you a better idea of what the bird looks like:
It’s a small bird (about 15 cm from head to tail). This one is quite dark in colour, with its black head and collar markings below the white throat.
A few weeks ago, I saw another Grey Fantail in a location close to this one. Both birds were on the shores of Manly Dam, about 700 meters apart. This one is quite a lot lighter in colour:
If you’d like to hear what Grey Fantails sound like (squeaky) or see other videos and photos of these birds, check out the list of my fantail blog posts.
Common name: Grey Fantail
Scientific name: Rhipidura fuliginosa
Approximate length: 14-17 cm
Date spotted: 16 June and 10 June, 2023 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’52.4″S 151°15’07.2″E and 33°46’37.9″S 151°14’48.5″E
Grey Fantail
This is only the second time I’ve managed to get a picture of a Grey Fantail. Grey Fantails are smaller than Willie Wagtails, and softer in colouring. They make a similar squeaky call, but not quite as piercing as Willie Wagtail.
I’ll try to get a good photo of a Grey Fantail, if one of them will stay still long enough! In the meantime, here’s the earlier video that I took of one of these birds, about three years ago. The bird was showing off its tail-fanning skills.
Common name: Grey Fantail
Scientific name: Rhipidura fuliginosa
Approximate length: 14-17 cm
Date spotted: 4 September 2020 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’23.8″S 151°15’05.8″E
Grey Fantail fluttering and waving its tail
Every now and then, while walking in the bush near Sydney, I see a bird fluttering up and down a tree and waving its tail in a merry dance. These birds move fast and don’t stay in one place for long. It’s hard to take a photo, especially as they’re usually deep in the undergrowth.
Today I managed to video one of these showoffs. As you’ll see, I had to follow the bird in its random jaunts to various branches of the tree. Now that I had a video, I could identify the bird. It’s a Grey Fantail, according to my bird book. Specifically, I think it’s one the alisteri race, which is the most common in the Sydney region.
Common name: Grey Fantail
Scientific name: Rhipidura fuliginosa
Approximate length: 15 cm
Date spotted: 13 August 2017 (Early spring)
Location: Manly Dam National Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’16.1″S 151°14’47.5″E
Sydney Birder 