The blue-headed fantail (''Rhipidura cyaniceps'') is a

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...

endemic to the northern

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

where it is found on the islands of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

and

Catanduanes Catanduanes (; ), officially the Province of Catanduanes (), is an island province located in the Bicol Region of Luzon in the Philippines. It is the 12th-largest island in the Philippines, and lies to the east of Camarines Sur, across the M ...

. Until recently, it was considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organism ...

with the Tablas fantail and Visayan fantail.

Description and taxonomy

Ebird describes it as " A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of primary and secondary forest from the lowlands to the mountains on Luzon and Catanduanes. Dull blue on the head, chest, back, and shoulder, with some paler blue streaking on the chest and crown. Has a buff belly and rufous lower back, rump, outer tail feathers, and wing, with dark central tail feathers and a dark edge to the wing. Tail often cocked and fanned while foraging. Similar to Black-naped Monarch, but has a rufous rump and tail. Voice consists of single sharp “pik!” notes given at intervals or sped up into a rapid series." Forms a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

with the Tablas fantail and Visayan fantail. It is differentiated through molecular studies, voice, solid blue chest without shaft streaks and brown belly.

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * ''R. c. cyaniceps'' – Found on Northwest

down to the

Bataan Peninsula Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga, Bataan, Balanga while Mariveles, ...

* ''R. c. pinicola''– Northeast Luzon to the

Bicol Peninsula The Bicol Region, designated as Region V, is an administrative region of the Philippines. It comprises six provinces, four on the Bicol Peninsula (the southeastern end of Luzon): Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon, and two ...

and

; slightly paler and smaller The two subspecies are poorly differentiated and may possibly be invalid - more study is required.

Ecology and behavior

Forages in the understory for insects and often joins mixed-species flocks that include Golden-crowned babbler, Lemon-throated leaf warbler, Black-crowned babbler Little pied flycatcher, Turquoise flycatcher, Negros leaf warbler and other small birds. Not much known about its breeding information but breeding season is believed to in February to May, in line with most other Philippine forest birds.

Habitat and conservation status

Its natural

habitats In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

are

tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in large ...

and tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

up to 2,000 meters above sea level, it is seen in a wide array of forest types from lowland

Dipterocarpus '' D. retusus'' in Köhler ''Dipterocarpus'' is a genus of flowering plants and the type genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. ''Dipterocarpus'' is the third-largest and most diverse genus among the Dipterocarpaceae. The species are well known for ...

forests and montane pine,

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has classified the species as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

where it is said to be locally common and the population is believed to be stable due to its general adaptability and tolerance for degraded forest. It is found in multiple protected areas such as

Mount Banahaw Mount Banahaw (; also spelled as Banahao and Banájao) is an active complex volcano on Luzon in the Philippines. The three-peaked volcano is located at the boundary of Laguna and Quezon provinces. It is the highest mountain in both provinces ...

Mount Makiling Mount Makiling (also spelled Maquiling) is an inactive stratovolcano located in the provinces of Laguna and Batangas on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The mountain rises to an elevation of above mean sea level and is the highest feat ...

Mount Isarog Isarog is an List of active volcanoes in the Philippines, active stratovolcano located in the province of Camarines Sur, Camarines Sur, Philippines, on the island of Luzon. The mountain has active Fumarole, fumaroles and Hot spring, hot springs. It ...

Bataan National Park Bataan National Park is a protected area of the Philippines located in the mountainous interior of Bataan province in the Central Luzon Region. Activities in the park include nature viewing, bird watching, and trekking to its several peaks and w ...

and

Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park The Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park is the largest protected area of the Philippines covering the northern range of the Sierra Madre mountains of eastern Luzon. The park is located in the eastern part of the province of Isabela in Cagayan ...

but like all areas in the Philippines, protection is lax and deforestation and hunting continues despite this protection on paper.

References

External links

Image at ADW
blue-headed fantail Birds of Luzon Fauna of Catanduanes blue-headed fantail blue-headed fantail {{Rhipiduridae-stub