Pohnpei fantail

The Pohnpei fantail (Rhipidura kubaryi) is a fantail which is endemic to the Pacific island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is a bird commonly found in forests and at forest edges. It feeds on insects which it gathers by gleaning amongst foliage or by making short dashes while in the air.

Pohnpei fantail
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhipiduridae
Genus: Rhipidura
Species:
R. kubaryi
Binomial name
Rhipidura kubaryi
Finsch, 1876

It is a small bird (15 cm) with a long, fan-shaped tail which is often fanned or wagged. The plumage is mostly dark grey with a white eyebrow, moustache and tips to the tail feathers. The belly is white and the breast is blackish with white feather edges giving a scaly appearance.

The species is closely related to the rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons) but it is darker and duller in appearance with a different song and feeding behaviour.

The scientific name commemorates the Polish naturalist Jan Kubary.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Rhipidura kubaryi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • H. Douglas Pratt, Philip L. Bruner & Delwyn G. Berrett (1987), A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific, Princeton University Press.
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