Animal field guide
White-browed Fantail
Rhipidura aureola
A small, restless flycatcher that hardly keeps still. As it pivots on a branch it spreads its long tail into a fan, cocks it and swings it from side to side, drooping its wings, movements thought to flush hidden insects into the open.
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Animal · South Asia · Dry and moist deciduous woodland · Relatively common
Known for: Broad white eyebrows that join across the forehead, Dark smoky-brown upperparts and a whitish belly, Two rows of white spots on the wing, Outer tail feathers broadly tipped white
Animal field guide
White-browed Fantail
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A small, restless flycatcher that hardly keeps still. As it pivots on a branch it spreads its long tail into a fan, cocks it and swings it from side to side, drooping its wings, movements thought to flush hidden insects into the open.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Dry and moist deciduous woodland, open forest, scrub jungle, groves, plantations and well-wooded gardens, mainly in the plains and foothills.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
20
Speed
47
Size
10
Intelligence
28
Rarity
20%
Total
125
Size scale
STEP 2 · PROVE IT
STEP 3 · BATTLE & FUSE
Understand the animal
Understand the White-browed Fantail
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to White-browed Fantail
A small, restless flycatcher that hardly keeps still. As it pivots on a branch it spreads its long tail into a fan, cocks it and swings it from side to side, drooping its wings, movements thought to flush hidden insects into the open.
How to identify a White-browed Fantail
- Broad white eyebrows that join across the forehead
- Dark smoky-brown upperparts and a whitish belly
- Two rows of white spots on the wing
- Outer tail feathers broadly tipped white
Why White-browed Fantail are interesting
- It often joins mixed flocks of small insect-eating birds moving through the trees, taking insects that the others disturb.
- Pairs often defend the nest boldly, darting at crows and other birds much larger than themselves.
- It is often tame, feeding close to people in gardens and village groves.
- Although it hunts like a flycatcher, it belongs to the fantail family, Rhipiduridae, and is not closely related to the Old World flycatchers.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does White-browed Fantail behave this way?
- Broad white eyebrows that join across the forehead
- Dark smoky-brown upperparts and a whitish belly
- Two rows of white spots on the wing
- Outer tail feathers broadly tipped white
Diurnal, busy from first light and feeding in bursts through the day; at night it roosts on a branch within dense foliage.
04
Why Dry and moist deciduous woodland?
Habitat: Dry and moist deciduous woodland, open forest, scrub jungle, groves, plantations and well-wooded gardens, mainly in the plains and foothills.
Native range: South Asia
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Dry and moist deciduous woodland, open forest, scrub jungle, groves, plantations and well-wooded gardens, mainly in the plains and foothills.
05
Why this diet?
Mostly small insects such as flies, gnats, mosquitoes, small moths and beetles. Besides snapping them up in short, twisting sallies from a perch, it gleans them from leaves and bark in the lower and middle levels of trees.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Diurnal, busy from first light and feeding in bursts through the day; at night it roosts on a branch within dense foliage.
Its lifespan in the wild is poorly documented, and no dependable figure can be given.
07
White-browed Fantail reproduction
The nest is a small, neat cup of fine grass bound with spider silk, set on a horizontal branch or fork. The usual clutch is three pale eggs marked with brown spots, and both parents incubate and feed the young.
Males and females look alike in the field; any plumage differences are slight.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Relatively common · 20/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 20/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
Speak to the animal
Speak to the White-browed Fantail
It answers as itself: ask about how it lives, or bring it something of yours and hear what it would do, from its own Power.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 100/day.
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Compare the White-browed Fantail
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Battled in the Arena
No one has taken a White-browed Fantail into an Arena battle yet. Battles players fight with this animal in the AnimalDex app show up here.
Where to find them
Where to find White-browed Fantail
To find White-browed Fantail in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside south Asia than by covering too much ground.
- Forest edge, canopy gaps, fruiting trees, or shaded trails where cover and food meet
- Open grassland edges, lightly wooded plains, or raised ground where you can scan long distances
- Sunlit logs, exposed branches, warm rocks, or regular perch sites used for scanning
Scientific name
Rhipidura aureola
Category
Animal
Habitat
Dry and moist deciduous woodland, open forest, scrub jungle, groves, plantations and well-wooded gardens, mainly in the plains and foothills.
Rarity
Relatively common · 20/100
Native range
South Asia
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