Pohnpei Fantail

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Pohnpei Fantail
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhipiduridae
Genus: Rhipidura
Species: R. kubaryi
Binomial name
Rhipidura kubaryi
Finsch, 1876

The Pohnpei Fantail (Rhipidura kubaryi) is a fantail which is endemic to the Pacific island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a common bird in forest and at the forest edge. It feeds on insects which it gathers by gleaning amongst foliage or by making short dashes into the air.

It is a small bird (15cm) with a long, fan-shaped tail which is often fanned or wagged. The plumage is mostly dark grey with a white eyebrow, moustache and tips to the tail feathers. The belly is white and the breast is blackish with white feather edges giving a scaly appearance.

The species is closely related to the Rufous Fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons) but it is darker and duller in appearance with a different song and feeding behaviour.

The scientific name commemorates the Polish naturalist Jan Kubary.

[edit] References

  • H. Douglas Pratt, Philip L. Bruner & Delwyn G. Berrett (1987), A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific, Princeton University Press.

[edit] External links