The Samoan fantail (''Rhipidura nebulosa'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Rhipiduridae The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics The family contains 55 species which are divided into four genera ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and is found in

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximate ...

and

Savaiʻi Savaii is the largest and highest island both in Samoa and in the Samoan Islands chain. The island is also the sixth largest in Polynesia, behind the three main islands of New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands of Island of Hawaii, Hawaii and ...

islands.

Description

The plumage is mostly dark greyish-brown with white undertail, black tail and light (white or pale smoky) throat. White spot behind the eyes. Like other fantails, Samoan fantail often spreads its long tail like a fan. The usual sounds are a low chirp. Sometimes imitates the voices of other bird species.: photos, description, range map

Distribution and habitat

The Samoan fantail is described as common and widespread on

Island and has a limited distribution on the island of

.del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Christie, D. 2006. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. (cit. by ) Its natural

habitat 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 ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s and subtropical or 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 ...

s. Prefers primary and secondary rainforests, but tolerates man-made landscapes: plantations and gardens.

Taxonomy

According to

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

there are 2 recognised subspecies.Gill F., Donsker D. & Rasmussen P. (Eds.)
Orioles, drongos, fantails
''

World Bird List (v11.2)''. doi:10.14344/IOC.ML.11.2 In alphabetical order, these are: * ''R. n. altera'' Mayr, 1931 * ''R. n. nebulosa'' Peale, 1849 Samoan fantail (''R. nebulosa'') forms a

superspecies 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: *

Brown fantail The Bougainville fantail (''Rhipidura drownei''), formerly the brown fantail, is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic of Bougainville Island in the Solomon Islands. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Guad ...

(''R. drownei'') * Makira fantail (''R. tenebrosa'') *

Rennell fantail The Rennell fantail (''Rhipidura rennelliana'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to Rennell Island (Solomon Islands). Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Description The plumage ...

(''R. rennelliana'') *

Streaked fantail The New Caledonian streaked fantail (''Rhipidura verreauxi'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to New Caledonia, and the Loyalty Islands (but not Ouvéa Island). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mo ...

(''R. verreauxi'') *

Kadavu fantail The Kadavu fantail (''Rhipidura personata'') is a species of bird in the fantail family Rhipiduridae. It is Endemism, endemic to Kadavu Island, Kadavu and Ono Island (Fiji), Ono in the Kadavu Group, Kadavu archipelago, in southern Fiji. It is clo ...

(''R. personata'')

References

Birds of Samoa Rhipidura Endemic fauna of Samoa Birds described in 1848 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Titian Peale Endemic birds of Samoa {{Rhipiduridae-stub