Rhipidura maculipectus
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The black thicket fantail (Rhipidura maculipectus) is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is found in the Aru Islands and New Guinea. This species is one of 47 in the genus Rhipidura. This is a medium-sized, long-tailed bird measuring 18-19 cm and weighing 18-19 g. The plumage is blackish with white spots on the chest and wings and a white tip to the tail. There is besides a short white stripe above the eye and white spot on the side of the neck. The tail is often lifted and fanned out. The iris is dark brown, the beak is black with pinkish underside. Males and females are similar but females have fewer spots and are paler on the abdomen. Juveniles are sooty black all over except for an indistinct white supraorbital spot and white tips on the tail feathers.
The black thicket fantail is similar to the White-bellied thicket fantail (R. leucothorax), but the latter differs in its white belly (as reflected by its name). This species is also similar to the Sooty thicket fantail (R. threnothorax) which has no white tip to the tail.
The majority of fantails are strong fliers, and some species can undertake long migrations, but black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Thicket-Fantail sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 191st most-seen of the 200 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black Thicket-Fantail in Raja Ampat on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Thicket-Fantail sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Raja Ampat, in our data
Raja Ampat is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black Thicket-Fantail sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Rhipidura
The closest relatives of the Black Thicket-Fantail that you can see in Raja Ampat (genus Rhipidura, Fantails) are Willie Wagtail (about 80%) and Northern Fantail (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Thicket-Fantail is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
