Grey Fantail
Rhipidura albiscapa

The Grey Fantail is a much-loved Australian bird, found throughout the country and also in Papua New Guniea and other Pacific islands. They are constantly on the move, taking off and alighting on perches and fanning their tails while hunting for insects. Their call is a series of tinkling high-pitched squeaks. They have a number of close relatives in Australia, such as the Northern and Mangrove Fantails and were nutil recently thought to be the same species as the New Zealand Fantail, which many authorities now consider to be a separate species. Another relative is the Willie Wagtail, although their hunting styles are quite different. They are tiny birds with their tails making up nearly half of the 15 cm total length. Birds in the north are darker than more southernly birds, such as this one, which is subspecies keasti, found in northern Queensland.
 

Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

1-3: Mt Lewis, Qld, 16/10/2011.
4: Mt Lewis, Qld, 12/03/2012.