Le Rhipidure à collier (Rhipidura fuliginosa) est une espèce de petit oiseau insectivore de la famille des Rhipiduridae (Bird Life 2004). C'est une espèce très commune en Australie où on la trouve partout en dehors des régions désertiques mais on la trouve aussi en Nouvelle-Zélande (où elle est connue sous le nom ma-ori de eePi-wakawakaee ou eeTi-wakawakaee), en Nouvelle-Guinée, dans les Îles Salomon et en Nouvelle-Calédonie où elle est appelée « Petit lève-queue ».

Description
L'oiseau mesure environ 16 centimètres de long dont la moitié pour la queue. Il a plusieurs couleurs possibles allant du gris souris au gris foncé en passant par le gris brun sur le dos. Le ventre est plus clair quelquefois jaune; la gorge est blanche comme quelquefois des taches autour des yeux. La queue est blanche pour les plumes périphériques mais lorsque l'oiseau déploie sa queue en éventail lorsqu'il parade, on constate que les plumes centrales sont foncées. Mâles et femelles sont identiques.

Alimentation
Il se nourrit d'insectes

Reproduction
Il construit un nid en coupe dans la fourche d'un arbre. Le nid est fait d'écorce, de mousse, de toiles d'araignées. La femelle pond trois à quatre œufs que les deux parents couvent. L'incubation est d'environ deux semaines. Nidification de septembre à janvier. 2 oeufs, blanc tacheté. Les deux adultes construisent le nid, couvent les oeufs et nourrissent les jeunes.
Hauteur du nid : généralement entre 1,5 et 2m dans le maquis broussailleux (il y a eu des observation jusqu'à 13m de haut).

Sous-espèces
D'après Alan P. Peterson, 4 sous-espèces ont été décrites dont une est éteinte:
Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina (Eteinte - Ramsay,EP 1879)
Rhipidura fuliginosa fuliginosa (Sparrman, 1787)
Rhipidura fuliginosa penita (Bangs 1911)
Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis (Bangs 1921)

-----------------------------------------

The New Zealand Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) is a small insectivorous bird. A common fantail found in the South Island of New Zealand, also in the North Island as subspecies Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis, the Chatham Islands as Rhipidura fuliginosa penita and formerly (now extinct) the Lord Howe Island as Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina. Also known as the Pied Fantail (pied morph only) or by its Maori name, Pi-wakawaka or Ti-wakawaka). The species is considered by many to be conspecific (the same) as the Grey Fantail of Australia and New Caledonia, however due to differences in its calls some authorities now treat it as a separate species.

Description
This Fantail is mid to dark grey or grey-brown above, yellowish/orange below, with a dark band across the chest below a white throat, white markings over the eye, and (depending on the race) either white-edged or entirely white outer tail feathers. It grows to 16 centimetres in length, of which half is the tail, which, as the name implies, is often displayed fanned out. This reveals that the outer tail feathers that are light and the centre ones are dark. Some subspecies are found in a darker plumage, notably the "Black fantail" morph seen in up to 25% of South Island birds and less than 1% of North Island birds (it is completely absent from the Chatham Islands). The black morph lacks the white areas and so is dark all over apart from a white spot behind the eye. Juveniles are similar to the adults but have a browner body and indistinct body markings.

Behaviour
During waking hours the bird is almost never still. It flits from perch to perch, sometimes on the ground but mostly on the twigs of a tree or any other convenient object, looking out for flying insects. The birds are not shy, and will often flit within a few metres of people, especially in forested areas and suburban gardens. In doing so, it is able to catch any small flying insects that may have been disturbed by human activities such as walking or digging. The bird's call is an almost metallic "cheek", either as a single sound or (more often) repeated as a chattering.

Breeding
The New Zealand Fantail is a seasonal breeder, nesting from August to March in the North Island, September to January in the South Island and October to January on the Chatham Islands. They usually raise two or more broods per season. The birds form compact, cup-shaped nests, usually in the forks of trees, made from moss, bark and fibre, and often completed with spider's web. Both sexes build the nest. The clutch size is usually three to four cream eggs which are spotted grey and brown. The incubation period is around two weeks, and incubation and feeding duties are shared by both adults. Nest building and incubation of the second brood may occur while the fledged young of the first brood are still being fed. Young males may begin breeding two months after fledging. The nests of the New Zealand Fantail are occasionally parasitised by the two species of cuckoo in New Zealand.