Rhipidura maculipectus

General description: 

Male has dull black head and underparts, thin white supercilium, wing dull black, greater and median WC with small white tips, tail sooty black with a white tips, white reduced on central feather pair,extensive white stripe from base of bill along side of throat, thin along upper throat, expanding to broad patch on lower throat, breast dull black, heavily marked with white spots, abdomen sooty black, iris dark brown, bill black, pinkish lower mandible, Female like male, but spotting on WC reduced, abdomen paler. Immature entirely sooty black, except for indistinct white supraorbital patch and white tips on R.

Conservation status: 

Not Threatened

Diagnostic description: 

Male has dull black head and underparts, thin white supercilium, wing dull black, greater and median WC with small white tips, tail sooty black with a white tips, white reduced on central feather pair,extensive white stripe from base of bill along side of throat, thin along upper throat, expanding to broad patch on lower throat, breast dull black, heavily marked with white spots, abdomen sooty black, iris dark brown, bill black, pinkish lower mandible, Female like male, but spotting on WC reduced, abdomen paler. Immature entirely sooty black, except for indistinct white supraorbital patch and white tips on R.

Size: 

18-19 cm, 18-19g

Phylogeny: 

Taxonomy: Rhipidura maculipectus G. R. Gray, 1858, Aru Islands. Forms a group with R. threnothorax and R. leucothorax. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)

Distribution: 

Distribution:

    W Papuan Is (Batanta, Salawati, possibly Misool), NW & S New Guinea from Vogelkop E to Warbusi (Geelvink Bay) and, in S, discontinuously (including Daru I) to R Laloki, and Aru Is.
Habitat: 

Variety of forests and low dense vegetation in lowlands, including swamp forest, mangrove forest, dense undergrowth in secondary forest, cane grass, keeps to heavier shade than preferred by R.leucothorax.

Migration: 

Resident.

Trophic strategy: 

Insect, mainly at lower levels, within 1-2 m of ground. Flycatching in horizontal sallies from low perch.

Reproduction: 

Immature observed in Oct-Nov. Latter part of dry season. No other information.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith