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 lightweigh ...

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 elsew ...

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' ...

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 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 ...

(''R. drownei'') *

Makira fantail The Makira fantail or dusky fantail (''Rhipidura tenebrosa'') is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habit ...

(''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. It ...

(''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 Fi ...

(''R. personata'') * Samoan fantail (''R. nebulosa'')

References

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 plumag ...

Birds of Rennell Island

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Rhipiduridae-stub