Extant New Zealand populations include pied and black morphs. The fantail eats small invertebrates and fans its tail while searching foliage for prey.
Adult New Zealand fantails occur in pied and black morphs; the pied morph has white eyebrows and a black-and-white tail.
It mainly eats small invertebrates and may fan its tail and flick its wings in foliage to make hidden prey move.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.