The Rennell fantail (''Rhipidura rennelliana'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the family
Rhipiduridae.
It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to
Rennell Island
Rennell Island, locally known as Mugaba, is the main island of two inhabited islands that make up the Rennell and Bellona Province in the nation state of Solomon Islands. Rennell Island has a land area of that is about long and wide. It is th ...
(Solomon Islands).
Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s.
Description
The plumage is mostly mouse-brown, while the color of throat is somewhat paler. There is a reddish stripe on the wing. The long tail, which the bird often spreads, is with a pale fringe. Avoids open spaces, preferring forest (mostly virgin ones). This is the only fantail on Rennell Island. The usual sound is piercing and squeaky.
[: photos, description and range map]
Taxonomy
Rennell fantail (''R. rennelliana'') forms a
superspecies with:
*
Brown fantail (''R. drownei'')
*
Makira fantail (''R. tenebrosa'')
*
Streaked fantail
The streaked fantail (''Rhipidura verreauxi'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. ''Rhipidura verreauxi'' has precedence over ''Rhipidura spilodera'' (Dickinson & Watling 2006). It is found in Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. ...
(''R. verreauxi'')
*
Kadavu fantail (''R. personata'')
*
Samoan fantail (''R. nebulosa'')
References
Rennell fantail
Birds of Rennell Island
Rennell fantail
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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