Jacky Winter 

The Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans) is a species of bird in the Petroicidae family. It is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests, and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.

It is a small grey-brown flycatcher with a faint pale eye-line and white underbody. The dark tail has prominent white outer feathers which are obvious when it lands, wagging his tail from side to side. The Jacky Winter typically sits upright on a bare branch or perch, wagging its tail and uttering its 'peter-peter' call. There are three sub-species, with slight geographical variation, darker in the south and paler in the far north and inland. This species is also known as the Brown Flycatcher, Postboy, White-tail or Peter-Peter.

Similar species

The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Microeca flavigaster, is slightly smaller, with a longer tail, lacking the white edge. Female and immature Petroica robins are similar, but have a distinctive light bar in the wing.

Distribution

The Jacky Winter is widely distributed in mainland Australia and in south east New Guinea.

Habitat

Jacky Winters prefer open woodland with an open shrub layer and a lot of bare ground. They are often seen in farmland and parks.

Resident and in some places a seasonal visitor.

Feeding

Jacky Winters dart out from a perch to snatch at flying insects, returning to the same perch again. They dive and twist in the air, hovering and grabbing at insects.

Breeding

During breeding, the Jacky Winter sings constantly and has high, slow song-flights. The cup-shaped nest is very small and made from grass and strips of bark, bound with spiders web on the fork of a dead branch. The female incubates the eggs and probably broods the young, fed by the male. They may raise several broods in a season. Their nest is always in an exposed position, clear of leaves.