Pīwakawaka - black morph

Pīwakawaka (fantails) seen in New Zealand are commonly the pied morph. In the South Island we see the black morph pīwakawaka reasonably often, they make up about 5% of the species (in the North Island it's more like 1%). Usually they're not exactly 'black', although from a distance can look quite dark. They're more of a chocolate brown.

This one I saw in the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary last weekend was as black as they get, particularly the face. A very hyperactive wee fella, as they commonly are, and it took me one or two hours to get this shot. Naughty bird would not sit still!