Petroica

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Petroica
NI Robin Karori.jpg
North Island robin (Petroica longipes)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Petroicidae
Genus: Petroica
Swainson, 1829
Type species
Muscicapa multicolor [1]
Gmelin, 1789
Species

14; see text

Petroica is a genus of Australasian robins, named for their red and pink markings. They are not closely related to the European robins nor the American robins.

Contents

The genus was introduced by the English naturalist, William John Swainson, in 1829, with the Norfolk robin (Petroica multicolor) as the type species. [2] [3] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek petro- "rock" with oikos "home". [4]

Many species in Australia have a red breast and are known colloquially as "red robins" as distinct from the "yellow robins" of the genus Eopsaltria . [5]

Species and subspecies

The genus contains the following 14 species: [6]

MaleFemaleCommon nameScientific NameDistribution
Male Rose Robin.jpg Roro fem026w.JPG Rose robin Petroica roseaAustralia.
Pink Robin - Mount Field National Park.jpg Pink robin Petroica rodinogasterTasmania, southern Australia
Snow Mountains robin Petroica archboldiWest Papua, Indonesia.
Mountain robin Petroica bivittataNew Guinea Highlands
Flame Robin male 1 - Jenolan Caves.jpg Flame Robin (Petroica phoenicea) (17191139570).jpg Flame robin Petroica phoeniceasouth-eastern Australia, including Tasmania
Solomons robin Petroica polymorphaSolomon Islands.
1976.08.02 12.45 pm Pacific robin, Nadarivatu-Nadrau Plateau, Fiji 2897 c.jpg Pacific robin Petroica pusillaMelanesia and Polynesia.
Norfolk Robin (Petroica multicolor) in the Norfolk Island.jpg Norfolk robin Petroica multicolorNorfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand
Scarlet Robin 0401.jpg Scarlet Robin female - Blackheath.jpg Scarlet robin Petroica boodangAustralia, including Tasmania.
Petroica goodenovii 2 - Wianamatta Reserve.jpg Red-capped Robin (Petroica goodenovii) female (14403872754).jpg Red-capped robin Petroica goodenoviiAustralia.
Petroica macrocephala macrocephala1.jpg Tomtit fem - New Zealand (25419832238).jpg Tomtit Petroica macrocephalaNew Zealand
NZ North Island Robin-2.jpg North Island robin Petroica longipesNorth Island of New Zealand.
South Island robin, Lewis Pass.jpg South Island robin Petroica australisNew Zealand
Black Robin on Rangatira Island.jpg Black robin Petroica traversithe Chatham Islands

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australasian robin</span> Family of birds

The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the family species are known variously as robins, scrub-robins and flyrobins. They are only distantly related to the European robin of Europe, north Africa and western Asia, a member of family Muscicapidae.

<i>Leiothrix</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Leiothrix is a genus of passerine birds in the family Leiothrichidae. They belong to a clade also containing at least the liocichlas, barwings, minlas and sibias. The sibias are possibly their closest living relatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet robin</span> Songbird species native to southern Australia

The scarlet robin is a common red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica. The species is found on continental Australia and its offshore islands, including Tasmania. The species was originally split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason, and as the original collection by Gmelin was from Norfolk Island, this retained the name of multicolor, and is now known as the Norfolk robin.

<i>Eopsaltria</i> Genus of birds

Eopsaltria is a genus of small forest passerines known in Australia as the yellow robins. They belong to the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek for "dawn singer/song" because of their dawn chorus. They are inquisitive and bold birds, and have been reported perching on the shoulders or boots of people in the bush. Open eucalyptus woodlands are their preferred habitat. The ornithologist John Gould likened the behaviour and mannerisms of the eastern and western yellow robin to those of the European robin. The name "yellow robin" itself was applied to the eastern yellow robin by the early settlers of New South Wales.

<i>Amalocichla</i> Genus of birds

Amalocichla is a genus of bird in the family Petroicidae that are found in New Guinea.

<i>Drymodes</i> Genus of birds

Drymodes is a genus of bird in the family Petroicidae. It was traditionally held to have two species, but molecular and behavioural differences led to the split of the New Guinea populations from the northern scrub robin. The paper by Les Christidis and colleagues was published in 2011 and the IOC adopted the split in 2015:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-breasted robin</span> Species of songbird native to southwestern Australia

The white-breasted robin is a passerine bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae and the Yellow Robin genus Eopsaltria. Occasionally it is placed in the genus Quoyornis. It is endemic to southwestern Australia. Unlike many other Australian robins, it lacks bright colours in its plumage, being a predominantly greyish bird with white underparts. Like other closely related Australasian robins, it is a cooperative breeder. It is sedentary, with pairs or small groups maintaining territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western yellow robin</span> Species of songbird native to southern Australia

The western yellow robin is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family, Petroicidae, native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1838, the western yellow robin and its Australian relatives are not closely related to either the European or American robins, but they appear to be an early offshoot of the Passerida group of songbirds. Ranging between 13.5 and 15.5 cm long, it has grey upperparts, and a grey breast and head, broken by whitish streaks near the bill and below the eye, with a conspicuous yellow belly. The sexes are similar in appearance. Two subspecies are recognized: subspecies griseogularis, which has a yellow rump, and subspecies rosinae with an olive-green rump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mangrove robin</span> Species of songbird native to New Guinea and northern Australia

The mangrove robin is a passerine bird in the family Petroicidae. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea, and northern Australia. The bird's common name refers to its natural habitat. They live in mangrove forests and seldom fly outside these biomes.

<i>Melanodryas</i> Genus of birds

Melanodryas is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae.

<i>Microeca</i> Genus of birds

Microeca is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. The species in this genus are commonly known as flyrobins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torrent flyrobin</span> Species of songbird native to New Guinea

The torrent flyrobin is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is also known as the torrent robin.

<i>Pachycephalopsis</i> Genus of birds

Pachycephalopsis is a genus of birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae that are found in New Guinea.

<i>Peneothello</i> Genus of birds

Peneothello is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae.

<i>Poecilodryas</i> Genus of birds

Poecilodryas is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded yellow robin</span> Species of songbird native to New Guinea

The banded yellow robin or olive-yellow robin is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae that is found in New Guinea. It is the only species in the genus Gennaeodryas. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. It has a high mortality rate due to its inability to traverse across a matrix.

<i>Tregellasia</i> Genus of birds

Tregellasia is a genus of birds in the family Petroicidae that are found in Australia and New Guinea.

<i>Lessonia</i> (bird) Genus of birds

Lessonia is a genus of South American birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, found near freshwater lakes and saline marshes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific robin</span> Species of songbird native to islands in southwestern Pacific

The Pacific robin, is a red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica found in Melanesia and Polynesia. It is similar in plumage to the scarlet robin of Australia, and until recently the two were considered conspecific until split in 1999 by Schodde and Mason. Thirteen subspecies of Pacific robin are currently recognised, and these subspecies display considerable variation in plumage, foraging preferences, and habitat. The Norfolk robin was previously considered a subspecies of the Pacific robin, but is now considered a distinct species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norfolk robin</span> Species of songbird native to Norfolk Island

The Norfolk robin, also known as the Norfolk Island scarlet robin or Norfolk Island robin, is a small bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand.

References

  1. "Pectroicidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Swainson, William John (1829). Zoological illustrations, or, Original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals. Series 2. Vol. 1. London: Baldwin, Cradock. Plate 36 text.
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 562.
  4. Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Petroica". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive: Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  5. Dowling DK (2003). "Breeding biology of the red-capped robin". Australian Journal of Zoology. CSIRO Publishing. 51 (6): 533–549. doi:10.1071/ZO03028 . Retrieved 2007-06-07.
  6. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Australasian robins, rockfowl, rockjumpers, Rail-babbler". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 June 2019.

Further reading