'Rio' the Rufous Fantail | Fine Art Print | Australian Wildlife Art

There’s so much to love in this fidgety, flitty, tail-wagging cutey that has the most stunning monobrow Shannon has ever seen! Such a fun little feathered friend to capture - with great emphasis on those gorgeous eyes (and, of course, ‘the brow’).

About this bird:
The Rufous Fantail is found in northern and eastern coastal Australia, being more common in the north. It is also found in New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sulawesi and Guam. The dainty Rufous Fantail is usually seen flitting about below the canopy of moist eucalypt forests and rainforests, inhabiting the dense, shady undergrowth of gullies. Foraging mostly in the air, they often perch restlessly on the branches, with their wings continually fidgeting and the tail almost always fanned, regularly making short, jerky flights out from the perch, flitting and fluttering, diving, twisting and looping near the foliage and branches to dislodge, flush out or catch insect prey. When fanned, its tail is almost twice as wide as its body and, unlike many bird species where the male has the more impressive plumage, the female Rufous Fantail is just as brightly coloured, if a little smaller. Sometimes Rufous Fantails join forces with other birds to hunt out the small insects they love to eat, teaming up with the Spectacled Monarch, Large-Billed Scrubwren, Green-Backed Honeyeater and the Little Shrike-thrush. The Rufous Fantail’s call is either a series of thin whistles with rising pitch or making a single or double ‘chip’. Their call can serve as both an alarm to warn off predators when hunting for food or as a way to attract a mate. Conservation Status: Secure.