[2][5] The studies of grey fantail in 1999 by Richard Schodde and Ian Mason recommended that Tasmanian grey fantail was formally classified as R. albiscapa and New Zealand fantails populations as R. fuliginosa[6] This species is mid-to-dark grey or grey-brown above, lighter (often yellowish/orange) below, with a white throat, white markings over the eye, and with (depending on the race) either white-edged or entirely white outer tail feathers.

[7] This species is easily seen while walking in eucalypt forest, rainforest, mangroves, heath, and wooded habitat.

The populations of Australian fantails are complex and they were all formerly considered conspecific due to their being closely related based on their song, habitat, tail coloration, and clutch size.

[9] Numerous birds of southern Australia are characterised by a known biogeographical barrier, the Nullarbor Plain, displaying morphological divergence of subspecies differentiation.

[11] Because of the east-west division due to the geographic barrier effect on their morphological divergence, the populations of R. albiscapa could be classified into five subspecies by their characteristics, such as their calls, patterns of plumage, and nest construction.

Therefore, desertion might be an adaptation of grey fantails, with these nests used for eliminating hazards from cryptic predation.

[13] The parent birds build compact, cup-shaped nests, usually in the forks of trees, made from moss, bark and fibre, and often completed with spider's web.

[15] The growth of testes sizes could be subject to sperm competition, similar to other species exhibiting morphological traits.

Despite most grey fantails forming season-long monogamous pairs, a small number of male birds seeking extra-pair copulation have been recorded.

A small number of R. a. preissi individuals (a subspecies recognized in southwestern Australia) have also been recorded in the subpopulation of R. a. keasti and R. a.