The Samoan fantail (''Rhipidura nebulosa'') 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 The family Rhipiduridae are small insectivorous birds of Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent that includes the fantails and silktails. Taxonomy and systematics There are four genera classified within the family: * Subfamily R ...

. 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 ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

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 approxim ...

and

Savaiʻi Savaii is the largest (area 1,694 km2) and highest ( Mt Silisili at 1,858 m) 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 ...

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 ) It's 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 ...

s are 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 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 fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucia ...

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

Taxonomy

According to

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental Sports governing body, sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an associ ...

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 with: *

Brown fantail The brown fantail (''Rhipidura drownei'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is found in Bougainville Island and Guadalcanal. Description Not big (from 9-10 up to 14 cm long) dark bird with a long tail, which it often spreads l ...

(''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 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 The Kadavu fantail (''Rhipidura personata'') is a species of bird in the fantail family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to Kadavu and Ono in the Kadavu archipelago, in southern Fiji. It is closely related to the streaked fantail of the rest of Fij ...

(''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 {{Rhipiduridae-stub