White-browed Fantail (Rhipidura aureola)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

White-browed Fantail

Rhipidura aureola Lesson, RP, 1831

≈15 cmLength11 gWeight

It often spreads its white-edged tail into a fan as it moves through scrub.

Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Adult’s long white supercilia meet on the forehead
  2. Adult’s fan-shaped tail edged with white
  3. Adult’s upperparts dark brown, with white spots on the wings
  4. Adult’s throat and mask blackish, with a whitish moustachial stripe

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: February · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia

White-browed Fantail has been recorded at 186 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 8 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. TmatboeyCambodia912 records
  2. Yala National ParkSri Lanka867 records
  3. Indroda Nature ParkIndia729 records
More places
  1. Ranthambore NPIndia704 records
  2. Khem Villas Jungle CampIndia694 records
  3. Thol Bird SanctuaryIndia593 records
  4. Uda Walawe NPSri Lanka419 records
  5. Ananthagiri Hills, VikarabadIndia370 records
  6. Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia300 records
  7. Browns Hill, MataraSri Lanka264 records

Countries and regions with the most records

IndiaSri LankaCambodiaNepalPakistanVietnamMyanmar (Burma)Thailand

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

How big is the White-browed Fantail?

The White-browed Fantail is about ≈15 cm long and weighs around 11 g.

Where does the White-browed Fantail live?

Its breeding range: Oriental: widespread. It is most often recorded in India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

When is the best time to see the White-browed Fantail?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in February (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the White-browed Fantail endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the White-browed Fantail as Least Concern.

What does the White-browed Fantail eat?

Main food: Insects & other invertebrates.

What family is the White-browed Fantail in?

It belongs to the family Fantails (Rhipiduridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length
≈15 cm
Weight
11 g
Habitat
Forest
Diet
Insects & other invertebrates
Lifestyle
Perches in trees
Migration
Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
82 mm
Tail
85 mm
Bill
14 mm
Tarsus
18 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Oriental: widespread

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1
  • Rhipidura aureola burmanica Myanmar and s China to s Indochina

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Fantails Rhipiduridae
Genus
Rhipidura

Other birds in the genus Rhipidura

Mindanao Blue FantailMindanao Blue FantailRhipidura superciliarisVisayan Blue FantailVisayan Blue FantailRhipidura samarensisBlue-headed FantailBlue-headed FantailRhipidura cyanicepsTablas FantailTablas FantailRhipidura sauliVisayan FantailVisayan FantailRhipidura albiventrisWhite-throated FantailWhite-throated FantailRhipidura albicollisWhite-spotted FantailWhite-spotted FantailRhipidura albogularisWhite-bellied FantailWhite-bellied FantailRhipidura euryuraSunda Pied FantailSunda Pied FantailRhipidura javanicaPhilippine Pied FantailPhilippine Pied FantailRhipidura nigritorquisSpotted FantailSpotted FantailRhipidura perlataWillie WagtailWillie WagtailRhipidura leucophrys
White-browed Fantail

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Savani Sewwandi. ↗

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