| Fantails | |
|---|---|
| |
| Grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Rhipiduridae |
| Subfamily: | Rhipidurinae |
| Genus: | Rhipidura Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 |
| Type species | |
| Muscicapa flabellifera[1] Gmelin, JF, 1788
| |
| Species | |
|
Over 50, see text | |
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus Rhipidura in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about 15 to 18 cm (5.9 to 7.1 in) long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "fantails", but the Australian willie wagtail is a little larger, and, though still an expert hunter of insects on the wing, concentrates equally on terrestrial prey.
The true wagtails are part of the genus Motacilla in the family Motacillidae and are not close relatives of the fantails.
- ^ "Rhupuduridae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.