Behaviour
The White-throated Fantail lays three eggs in a small cup nest in a tree.
The White-throated Fantail is insectivorous, and often fans its tail as it moves through the undergrowth.
Not normally renowned as a songster, the male of R. a. albogularis, the peninsular race, uses a fixed and unmistakable pattern of musical notes in its call. The notes are loud and normally divided into two stanzas – the first with 5–6 trilling notes rising and falling, followed by 4–5 notes rising up the scale and ending in the highest note.
Birds use the same song year after year, with progressively small changes, with the result that the song sounds very different after 4–5 years. The male's call is a valuable tool in detection and identification of the bird, which can often be confused with the White-browed Fantail, R. aureola, where their ranges overlap. R. aureola has light underparts and prominent spots in two rows on the wings. Its call is rather functional, and not as pleasant and aesthetic as that of R. albicollis.
Read more about this topic: White-throated Fantail
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