Adrian Lim posted his account of the Pied Fantail on 23rd October 2008:
“This Pied Fantail (Rhipidura javanica) just kept dancing before me, exihibiting its tail like a peacock. Wasted so many shots as the chap just wouldn’t stop moving. Managed to get pretty close at one stage, when it was perching on a leaf.”
Ingo Waschkies confirms that the bird is a juvenile, “…the two buff-brown wing bars are a sure sign of a young bird.”
The Pied Fantail, like most fantails, is excessively active, moving about, cocking its tail and fanning the feathers open. When fully fanned, the dark tail feathers broadly tipped with white make a striking display. The tail itself makes up 50% of the bird’s total length, definitely longer then the wing.
Image by Adrian Lim.
Reference:
Boles, W. E., 2006. Family Rhipiduridae (Fantails). In: del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott & D. A. Christie (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 11. Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Pp. 200-242.
This post is a cooperative effort between www.naturepixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.
