New Zealand Fantail

Rhipidura fuliginosa

The New Zealand fantail is a small insectivorous bird, the only species of fantail in New Zealand. It has four subspecies: R. f. fuliginosa in the South Island, R. f. placabilis in the North Island, R. f. penita in the Chatham Islands, and the now-extinct R. f. cervina formerly on Lord Howe Island. It is also known by its Māori names, pīwakawaka, tīwakawaka or piwaiwaka, and the Chatham Island subspecies by the Moriori name tchitake; the common pied morph is also known as pied fantail, and the uncommon dark morph is also known as black fantail. The species has been considered by many to be conspecific as the grey fantail of Australia and New Caledonia; however, due to significant differences in its calls, many authorities now treat it as a separate species. Source

Where is the New Zealand Fantail now?

In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 88,336 times across 6 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).

See the New Zealand Fantail on the live map

Related species

• Willie Wagtail Rhipidura leucophrys
• Gray Fantail Rhipidura albiscapa
• Rufous Fantail Rhipidura rufifrons
• White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis
• Pied Fantail Rhipidura javanica
• Rufous Fantail (Rufous-fronted) Rhipidura rufifrons rufifrons/intermedia

Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.