Northern Fantail
Rhipidura rufiventris
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyRhipiduridae (Fantails)
- GenusRhipidura (Fantails)
- SpeciesRhipidura rufiventris (Northern Fantail)
About the Northern Fantail
The northern fantail (Rhipidura rufiventris) is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is found in New Guinea, Timor, and northern Australia (from Broome in Western Australia to the Shire of Burdekin in Queensland). Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
The northern fantail was formally described in 1818 as Platyrhynchos rufiventris by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot. The specific epithet is Modern Latin meaning "red-bellied" from Latin rufus meaning "ruddy" or "rufous" with venter, ventris meaning "belly". Vieillot mistakenly believed that the specimen had been collected in "Nouvelle-Hollande" (Australia). The type locality has been designated as the island of Timor. The specimen described by Vieillot had probably been collected in 1801 by René Maugé de Cely during the Baudin expedition to Australia. The northern fantail is now placed in the genus Rhipidura that was introduced in 1827 by Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield.
Twenty subspecies are recognised: R. r. tenkatei Büttikofer, J, 1892 – Rote Island (eastern Lesser Sunda Islands) R. r. rufiventris (Vieillot, LJP... Wikipedia →
Closest Relatives at Raja Ampat
Willie Wagtail
Rhipidura leucophrys
Black Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura maculipectus
Sooty Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura threnothorax
Black Fantail
Rhipidura atra
White-bellied Thicket-Fantail
Rhipidura leucothorax
Helmeted Friarbird
Philemon buceroides
Pacific Swallow
Hirundo javanica
Torresian Crow
Corvus orru
Glossy-mantled Manucode
Manucodia ater
Red Bird-of-Paradise
Paradisaea rubra
Shining Flycatcher
Myiagra alecto
Hooded Butcherbird
Cracticus cassicus
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nitmiluk National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Litchfield National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Northern Fantail in Raja Ampat?
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Fantail sighting in Raja Ampat, based on 358 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Northern Fantail in Raja Ampat?
June has the highest sighting rate for Northern Fantail in Raja Ampat in our monthly data.