Fantails (Pīwakawaka): Joyful Garden Companions and Artistic Muses
Dipping and dancing through the air, keeping up a cascade of tiny cheeps, “Freddie Sunshine” is on patrol. It doesn’t take this New Zealand fantail (pīwakawaka) long to hunt me down in the garden, especially in winter, when food is scarcer, and the compost bin is teeming with insects. If only he were big enough to lift the lid on his own, he’d be sorted. Instead, he relies on me to notice and understand. As soon as the lid comes up, he’s in with a grin, dipping and diving to fill his belly, keeping up a running commentary the entire time.
Then it’s time for a walk at Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush or Zealandia EcoSanctuary. I love heading down to the Kaiwharawhara and Te Mahanga streams, where fantails flip from the low branches and skim over the water as if they have been assigned to supervise my outing.
Why do fantails follow us around?
Anyone who has spent time in a New Zealand garden or forest has probably had the feeling of being adopted by a fantail. They flutter ahead, loop back, hover in front of your face, or pop up beside you as if they are checking whether you’re keeping up. It can feel wonderfully personal.
Part of the explanation is simple enough. Fantails are insectivores, and we disturb insects as we move. A gardener with a trowel is basically operating a mobile buffet. Someone lifting the compost lid is even better. But practicalities aside, fantails really do seem to have more personality per gram than almost any other bird. They are the extroverts and daredevils of the bird world, always watching us, always commenting, always ready to turn up where the action is.
Leave a door or window open, and suddenly you may find a tiny helper inside, harvesting insects from your cobwebs up high and exposing your slatternly housekeeping skills. Some people associate a fantail entering the house with news of a death in the family — not so much as bad luck, but as a kind of messenger or warning. I’ve never experienced it that way myself, and have only ever been delighted by their cheeky little visits.
How to recognise a baby fantail
The babies are adorable, too. Young fantails have a richer chestnut chest compared to the paler buff-copper of their parents, and sometimes they still have bumfluff sticking up on their heads and necks. Their eyebrows are also chestnut rather than white, which gives them a slightly different expression if you look closely.
Back home, it’s bath time for Freddie’s kids. Exuberantly, they fluff themselves through the water, then head for a branch to towel off and dry their underfluffies. It’s impossible not to love them.
Wait! Was that a black fantail?
It could well have been! About 5% of fantails are black rather than pied brown. And sometimes there are even leucistic white fantails that flit around like tiny angels, but they are incredibly rare. One day, maybe I'll get stunning photos of them all.
Why fantails are so loved
It’s little wonder that pīwakawaka fantails are beloved. They make even ordinary moments feel more alive. For some people, they are friendly little companions in the garden. For others, they bring back memories of a special walk in the bush, where a chattering guide fluttered ahead and turned a good walk into a magic one. Their confidence is part of their charm. But they don’t just carry joy.
Fantails as messengers
For some New Zealanders, that connection runs even deeper. Māori believe that pīwakawaka are messengers connected with the spirit world. As a Pākehā, I’m cautious about striding too boldly into meanings that aren’t mine to own. But I can say that this belief took on a very personal meaning for me when my father was in his last days of a long illness, and the family had gathered to care for him.
I was taking a break in the garden when the neighbourhood fantail came along to say hello. Remembering their role, I had a long chat with him and let him know we were ready. Later that evening, Dad passed away quietly. The next day, the fantail was back, chattering away as if to let me know that he had passed over and was now in safe hands — or safe wings. Bringing me a sense of peace and making the unbearable somehow bearable.
I know from speaking with many of my collectors that some of you have had similar experiences, too, and that fantail art is how you choose to remember special people who are no longer with you. Others of you resonate more with that friendly garden companion, or with the delight and joy of those tiny encounters in the bush that stay with us for years.
Why fantails are such wonderful artistic muses
Fantails are a delight to create art with. Their dynamic poses and antics, their beautiful fanned tails that are like exclamation points, their fluffy underpants, their sweet little faces with such fierce eyebrows — honestly, they seem almost custom-designed to be artistic muses.
In my fantail art, I strive to capture both their lively personalities and their deeper meaning for many New Zealanders.
But oh my goodness, are they difficult to photograph! It literally took me years to get photos that felt worthy of turning into art. Fantails are nigh-on impossible to track because they are aerodynamically built to turn on a dime as they chase flying insects. One moment they are there, the next they have zipped off in a different direction, laughing at me.
That challenge is part of their appeal. When you do finally catch the right pose — a tilt of the head, a fan of the tail, a hover mid-turn — it feels like a huge triumph.
How to attract fantails to your garden
If you want more pīwakawaka in your garden, don’t bother with bird seed or fruit. Fantails are insectivores. Your best course of action is not to spray, and to let your garden support plenty of small insect life. Aphids and scale may not delight us gardeners, but they certainly delight the fantails.
A compost bin is a great start too. Leave the lid open now and then, and you may find yourself with a feathered audience waiting impatiently for service. Leaf litter, native plants, and a slightly less sterile garden all help.
Fantails often join winter flocks of small birds such as tauhou (silvereyes) and riroriro (grey warblers), looping around the neighbourhood in little gangs as they pick off overwintering insects. In these mixed flocks, you may only see one pair of fantails, but they are busy little birds and often seem to act as lookouts, sounding the alarm if they spot danger. They may be tiny, but they are not shy about expressing themselves.
Fantails in art and memory
Perhaps that is why fantails turn up so often in New Zealand art. They are not just pretty little birds. They represent joy, remembrance, companionship, curiosity, and those fleeting moments when the natural world feels suddenly close and personal.
Over the years, I’ve created artworks inspired by these lively little characters — from cheeky garden companions to more reflective pieces shaped by memory and meaning. If you'd like to see more, you might like to explore my collection of fantail art prints and photography.
Have you had a magic moment with a pīwakawaka fantail too? Leave a comment below...
