| |
| White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis albogularis
- Female on nest |
 |
| Photographer : | © Nanda Gudipati |
| Location : | Dharwar, Karnataka, India |
| Date : |
1 April 2006 |
| English synonyms: | White-spotted Fantail (albogularis, vernayi), Spot-breasted Fantail (albogularis, vernayi), White-throated Fantail-flycatcher |
| Bird Family : | Rhipiduridae - Fantails |
| Bird Group : | PASSERIFORMES |
| Red Data Status : | Least Concern |
| Remarks : | I have been following this Rhipidura couple for 15 days. I have seen the male uttering a long call like “ttitt -a -tee -tta- tutta”, while the female just says “chruk --- chrruk”. The female is sleeker and duller in appearance, while the male is plump and of sharp black and white designs. The female is brave and not scared to face me, while the male runs away. I have followed their nest making for 15 days and still it is not complete. First they make long fibres out of bamboo leaves and some thrown away threads. They attach them to a fork of a bougainvillea shrub. The White-throated Fantail has a habit of always revolving clockwise and anticlockwise. It does the same thing when holding fibres in her beak and making a nest cup. Then one of the pair brings some neat white cobweb like sterilised cotton and plasters the cup from outside and also from inside.
Later they put some small pieces of fibres inside the cup. The bird presses itself into the centre of the nest and again starts the same clockwise and anticlockwise dance on its belly and shapes the inner portion of nest into a nice bed.
These Rhipidura are quite possessive of their nest and do not abandon it even after a cat has seen their nest and is sleeping just near it.
The nest is just 3 feet above ground. - NG
|
| |
