Rhipidura threnothorax
Silhouette: Michael Scroggie · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The sooty thicket fantail (Rhipidura threnothorax) is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is found in New Guinea. The majority of fantails are strong fliers, and some species can undertake long migrations, but sooty thicket fantail as well as the other thicket fantails (white-bellied thicket fantail and black thicket fantail) are very weak fliers, and need to alight regularly.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. According to IOC there are 2 recognised subspecies. Sooty thicket fantail Rhipidura threnothorax Müller, S, 1843 «xeno-canto» website — Birds' Voices all over the world
Tvardikova K. (2022). "Rhipidura -threnothorax Müller, S, 1843". New Guinea Birds online. Retrieved 2022-03-17. "Sooty Thicket-Fantail Rhipidura threnothorax". Ebird: photos, description, range map. 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 Sooty 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.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sooty Thicket-Fantail in Raja Ampat on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sooty Thicket-Fantail sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Raja Ampat, in our data
Raja Ampat is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Sooty Thicket-Fantail sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Rhipidura
The closest relatives of the Sooty 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 Sooty 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.
