The pink robin (Petroica rodinogaster) is a small passerine bird native to southeastern Australia. Its natural habitats are cool temperate forests of far southeastern Australia.[2] Like many brightly coloured robins of the family Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Measuring 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in length, the robin has a small, thin, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs.[3] The male has a distinctive white forehead spot and pink breast, with grey-black upperparts, wings and tail. The belly is white. The female has grey-brown plumage.[4] The position of the pink robin and its Australian relatives on the passerine family tree is unclear; the Petroicidae are not closely related to either the European or American robins, but appear to be an early offshoot of the Passerida group of songbirds.
| Pink robin | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Infraorder: | Passerides |
| Family: | Petroicidae |
| Genus: | Petroica |
| Species: | P. rodinogaster
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| Binomial name | |
| Petroica rodinogaster (Drapiez, 1819)
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Taxonomy
editDescribed by Belgian naturalist Auguste Drapiez in 1819, the pink robin is a member of the Australasian robin family Petroicidae.[5][6] Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation studies placed this group in a Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens, honeyeaters, and crows.[7] However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida (or "advanced" songbirds) within the songbird lineage.[8] Testing of the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of Australian members of the genus Petroica suggests that the pink and rose robins are each other's closest relative within the genus.[9]
The generic name Petroica derives from the Ancient Greek petros 'stone' and oikos 'house'. The specific name rodinogaster derives from the Ancient Greek rhodinos 'pink' and gaster 'belly'.[10]
Description
editThe pink robin is 13.5 cm (5.5 in) long and displays sexual dimorphism – the males and females have plumage which differ markedly. The male has a dark blackish-grey head, throat, back, wings and tail, a pink breast and belly fading to white on the lower abdomen, and a white forehead. The female is dark grey-brown above, with two buff-coloured wing-bars and pinkish-tinged underparts. The bill and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown.[11]
Distribution and habitat
editIts range is the forests of southern Victoria and neighbouring parts of South Australia and New South Wales, and Tasmania.[11]
Breeding
editBreeding occurs from September to January. The nest is a well-made, neat, deep cup of moss. Spider webs, feathers and fur are used for binding or filling, and the nest is generally placed in a tree fork up to 5 m (15 ft) above the ground. A clutch of three or four eggs is laid. The eggs, which measure 18 by 14 mm, are greyish-, greenish- or blueish-white, and are marked with dark brown and lavender splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end.[12]
Feeding
editPrey consists of a variety of spiders and insects, including caterpillars, ichneumon wasps, beetles, flies and ants.[13]
References
edit- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Petroica rodinogaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22704825A93987153. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704825A93987153.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Pink Robin". BirdLife Australia. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "Pink robin (Petroica rodinogaster) - JungleDragon". www.jungledragon.com. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "Pink Robin - eBird". ebird.org. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ Gill, F. and D. Donsker, eds. (2020). IOC World Bird List (v 10.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- ^ Boles, Walter E. (1988). The Robins and Flycatchers of Australia. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. p. 35. ISBN 0-207-15400-7.
- ^ Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE (1990). Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 603, 610–27. ISBN 0-300-04085-7.
- ^ Barker, F. Keith; Cibois, Alice; Schikler, Peter A.; Feinstein, Julie & Cracraft, Joel (2004). "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation" (PDF). PNAS. 101 (30): 11040–45. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401892101. PMC 503738. PMID 15263073. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- ^ Loynes, Kate; Joseph, Leo; Keogh, J. Scott (2009). "Multi-locus phylogeny clarifies the systematics of the Australo-Papuan robins (Family Petroicidae, Passeriformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 53 (1): 212–19. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.012. PMID 19463962.
- ^ Jobling, James A. "Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird-names". Retrieved 2020-04-07.
- ^ a b Slater, Peter (1974). A Field Guide to Australian Birds: Passerines. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 171. ISBN 0-85179-813-6.
- ^ Beruldsen, Gordon (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. p. 340. ISBN 0-646-42798-9.
- ^ Barker RD, Vestjens WJ (1984). The Food of Australian Birds: (II) Passerines. Melbourne University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-643-05115-5.