The Rufous Fantail is a small, active bird found in eastern coastal Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Micronesia, and the Solomon Islands, inhabiting rainforests, wet forests, swamp woodlands, and mangroves, and migrating south to breed in spring before returning north in autumn. It feeds primarily on small insects, foraging energetically in the lower and middle canopy with short, fluttering flights and frequent tail-fanning.