“My wife and I spent the day in this hill resort to image a few birds that some friends require for a conservation project. We were on our way back when we saw a White-throated Fantail (Rhipidura albicollis atrata) dart under the overgrowth by the road side. Traffic was busy but managed to pull to the side and were delighted to spot a nest with two juveniles just at eye level (above, below). The nest is ~ 1.2 meters high, at a busy road side, built under the overhanging foliage. It has the classical ‘untidy tail’.
“We allowed ourselves an observation of 7 feeding episodes over 11 minutes and then left. As usual, no flash was used. Parents appeared clam at our presence as we stayed in the car.
“[The above-left image shows the adult feeding a chick; above-right image shows an adult looking for a faecal sac to remove.] There were many immature/juvenile White-throated Fantails on this trip, [one is shown below].
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
17th July 2013
Location: 1,600m ASL, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Habitat: A public road
2 responses
It’s interesting that this Fantail looks very like a dark version of the Australian Grey Fantail, and yet the nest seems much larger and stronger. Theirs (Aust.) looks like a wine glass without the base.
The nest looks really neat.