Rhipidura rufiventris
Nominate race has white supercilium from above lores to just above or behind eye, blackish-brown lores and side of face, crown, nape and side of neck slaty black, upperparts dark slatty-grey, R dark brown, edged laterally with hoary grey, greater and median wing coverts dark brown, edged slaty grey with minute white tips, lesser coverts dark slaty, tail black, two outer parts of R extensively tipped white, cheek, throat and upper breast white, breast side washed with grey, remaining underparts ochraceous buff, UT-C whiter, UW-C ochraceous buff, iris dark brown, bill and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile has UP duller and browner, PC tipped buff. Vidua is small, breast band slaty grey with conspicuous white mark, belly white. Gularis lack white edging on W-C and SC.
Not Threatened
Nominate race has white supercilium from above lores to just above or behind eye, blackish-brown lores and side of face, crown, nape and side of neck slaty black, upperparts dark slatty-grey, R dark brown, edged laterally with hoary grey, greater and median wing coverts dark brown, edged slaty grey with minute white tips, lesser coverts dark slaty, tail black, two outer parts of R extensively tipped white, cheek, throat and upper breast white, breast side washed with grey, remaining underparts ochraceous buff, UT-C whiter, UW-C ochraceous buff, iris dark brown, bill and legs black. Sexes alike. Juvenile has UP duller and browner, PC tipped buff. Vidua is small, breast band slaty grey with conspicuous white mark, belly white. Gularis lack white edging on W-C and SC.
16.2-18.5 cm, 14.5-19 g
Taxonomy: Platyrhynchos rufiventris Vieillot, 1818, New Holland; error = Timor. Sometimes considered to include R. diluta and R. fuscorufa as well-marked races. Birds from Tayandu Is (S Moluccas) described as race perneglecta, considered indistinguishable from assimilis. Race hoedti has been listed as “buettikoferi”, described almost simultaneously from a different island; these two have even been considered as two separate races, but claimed differences are slim, and biogeographically this separation seems unsuitable. Twenty subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * vidua Salvadori & Turati, 1874 - Kofiau, in W Papuan Is. * gularis Statius Muller, 1843 - W Papuan Is (except Kofiau), New Guinea, including islands in Geelvink Bay (except Biak), Manam I, Goodenough I and Fergusson I, and islands in Torres Strait. * kordensis A. B. Meyer, 1874 - Biak I. * nigromentalis E. J. O. Hartert, 1898 - Louisiade Archipelago (Misima, Tagula). * niveiventris Rothschild & E. J. O. Hartert, 1914 - Admiralty Is (Manus, Rambutyo). * mussai Rothschild & E. J. O. Hartert, 1924 - Mussau I, in St Matthias Group. * setosa (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830) - New Hanover, New Ireland and Djaul I. * gigantea Stresemann, 1933 - Tabar Is and Lihir Is (off E New Ireland). * tangensis Mayr, 1955 - Boang, in Tanga Is (between Tabar and Lihir). * finschii Salvadori, 1882 - New Britain and Duke of York I. * obiensis Salvadori, 1876 - Obi I (S of Halmahera). * bouruensis Wallace, 1863 - Buru I. * cinerea Wallace, 1865 - Seram and Ambon. * finitima E. J. O. Hartert, 1918 - Watubela Is (Tioor, Kasiui). * assimilis G. R. Gray, 1858 - Tayandu Is and Kai Is (Kai Besar, Kai Kecil). * pallidiceps E. J. O. Hartert, 1904 - Wetar (in E Lesser Sundas). * hoedti Büttikofer, 1892 - E Lesser Sundas (Romang, Damar, Leti, Moa, Sermata). * rufiventris (Vieillot, 1818) - Timor. * tenkatei Büttikofer, 1892 - Roti (off SW Timor). * isura Gould, 1841 - N Australia from about Broome (in N Western Australia) E across Top End to NE Queensland (S to vicinity of Proserpine).
In a range of forest habitats from rainforest and monsoon forest to swamp forest, gallery forest, tall secondary forest, locally mangroves. Often in more open areas including lightly wooded cultivated areas, open scrub. From sea levelto 1580 m in PNG.
Resident.
Insect, including beetle (coleoptery, flis (Diptera), mayflies (Ephemeroptera), bugs (hemiptera), menopterans, lepidopterans, termites, dragonflies and damseflies, also spiders. In NG 7% of feeding at 0-1m, 10% at 1-2m, 26% at 2-4m, 16% at 4-6m, 19 at 8-25, 8% at 25-35m. Most prey captured by flycatching.
Common or fairly common to abundant.
In NG: nest with young in Jun, 1-2 broods per late dry season (Sept-Oct). Courtship – male displays too female by cocking tail, drooping and spreading wings, waggling from side to side, moving shiffly from twig to twig. Nest is a cup from bark strips, grass and other plant material, woven together and bound with spider web, sometimes plant fibres. Resident in most of range. Not globally threatened.
Common or fairly common to abundant.
.03.jpg)
.02.jpg)
.04.jpg)