Nominate race has face and upperparts dark bluish-grey, crown darker, short supercilium, line on ear-coverts and stripe white, upperwing bluish –grey, greater and medium upper-wing-coverts tipped with a small whitish spots, tail dark grey, two central pairs rectrices umarked, remaining feather with white tips, amount of increasing outwards, broad on outermost rectrix, chin white, throat black, underparts rufous or chesnut, iris dark brown, bill black, pale lower mandible, legs dark brown. Sexes alike. Juvenile is like adult, except that wings-coverts tipped rufous, band on upper breast pale grey and lower breast and belly paler rufous. Muelleri – more white on throat. Castaneothorax – similar, white tips of rectrices larger.
Not Threatened
Nominate race has face and upperparts dark bluish-grey, crown darker, short supercilium, line on ear-coverts and stripe white, upperwing bluish –grey, greater and medium upper-wing-coverts tipped with a small whitish spots, tail dark grey, two central pairs rectrices umarked, remaining feather with white tips, amount of increasing outwards, broad on outermost rectrix, chin white, throat black, underparts rufous or chesnut, iris dark brown, bill black, pale lower mandible, legs dark brown. Sexes alike. Juvenile is like adult, except that wings-coverts tipped rufous, band on upper breast pale grey and lower breast and belly paler rufous. Muelleri – more white on throat. Castaneothorax – similar, white tips of rectrices larger.
14-15 cm, 10-11 g
Taxonomy: Rhipidura hyperythra G. R. Gray, 1858, Aru Islands. Forms a superspecies with R. albolimbata, R. albiscapa, R. fuliginosa and R. phasiana. Race muelleri intergrades with castaneothorax in E. Three subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * muelleri A. B. Meyer, 1874 - W New Guinea E to Astrolabe Bay, S to upper R Fly area and Okasa (Eastern Highlands). * hyperythra G. R. Gray, 1858 - Aru Is. * castaneothorax E. P. Ramsay, 1879 - SE New Guinea (E from Huon Peninsula and, in S, from R Angabunga).
Hill forest to 1370 m, locally to 1750m, also in lowlands in vicinity of hills and locally in upper and lower Trans-Fly region. Replaced at higher elevations by R.albalimbata.
Resident.
Insect. Mainly in more open middle strata, but ranges from lower to upper storey. Flycatching (25-80%), flycatching-gleaning (20-25) and gleaning (0-50). Foraging substrate were branches 70%, leaves 1 %, aerial 15%, trunk 1%. Join mixed flocks of small insectivors Gerygone, avoid those with R.rufidorsa.
Nest with eggs in mid-Sept, nestling in late Apr, bird at nest in late Nov, juvenile mid-Sept, fledglings fed early Dec, also construction in Feb, mid-Sept and early Oct, enlarged gonads Jul-Aug. Nest a small cup with hanging tail, bound with spider web, placed 1.7-4m from ground from horizontal thin branch. Cluch 2 eggs, white with small dark brown spots concentrated around larget end. No other info.
Sedentary, not globally threatened, fairy common to common in most range.