Order) Passeriformes
Family) Rhipiduridae
Species) Native Bird
Conservation Status) Not Threatened
Length) 16 cm
Weight) 8 g
Other Names) fantail, piwakawaka, grey fantail, pied fantail, black fantail, tīrairaka, tirairaka
Threats) Rats
Identification
The Fantail is a well known NZ bird due to its distinctive fanned tail. Locations found on Waiheke are any well-treed parks, bush walks and even properties.
Fantails aren’t particularly afraid of people they often approach within a metre or two and continue to build nests and visit their nestlings while people are around.
The Fantail is a small song bird.
The New Zealand fantail occurs in two colour morphs: pied and black (Waiheke mainly has Pied). The adult pied fantail has a greyish head, prominent white eyebrows, brown back and rump, cinnamon breast and belly, white and black bands across the upper breast, and a long black and white tail.
Juvenile pied fantails are of mainly brown tones over the head and body, lack the striking white eyebrows and chest bands, and are more rufous on the breast, eyebrows and on the tips of the primary coverts than adults.
fantails are quite vocal, except when it is particularly cold. They regularly give ‘cheep’ calls in a number of situations, such as when foraging or alarmed.
They can often be found associating with flocks of other forest species, such as brown creepers, whiteheads and silvereyes, perching below ready to intercept any prey that falls. They have a strong association with foraging saddlebacks wherever the two species co-occur.
It can be found in native forest blocks, small forest patches, scrubland, exotic plantations, farm shelterbelts, orchards, and well-treed suburban parks and gardens.
Breeding
Fantails are monogamous breeders meaning they only have one mate.
The timing of fantail breeding varies with location and weather conditions. The nest is constructed of fine materials (mosses, dried rotten wood fibres, hair, dried grasses, fern scales) tightly woven with cobwebs. Most nests are shaped into a woven cup and are sheltered from above by foliage, and often include a ‘tail’ of material below the base of the nest.
Two to five eggs are laid, eggs are white with fine brown spots and both adults take turns on the nest. 14-day incubation period and 14-day nestling period.
North Island fantail breeding season August-March
Food
Small invertebrates, such as moths, flies, beetles, mosquitoes and spiders.
When searching for prey in foliage, fantails often flick their wings and fan their tails, presumably to frighten hidden prey into movement so that they can be detected.
Waiheke Locations
Waiheke Reserves
Waiheke Bush Walks
Bushed Properties
Fantails are flying birds so they can really be anywhere on Waiheke but not just Waiheke they are all over New Zealand, these are just areas I’ve spotted them and photographed.
Gallery
