In the South Island, about one in 20 fantails is a black morph, this chocolate brown guy with a grey/black head. It’s the same species (Rhipidura fuliginosa) as the more common pied morph, it’s just a genetic anomaly. Oddly, the fantail’s scientific name is more suggestive of the uncommon black morph than it is of the more well-known pied morph, “fulignosa” means sooty.
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