White-rumped robin

White-rumped robin
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Petroicidae
Genus:	Melanodryas
Species:	M. bimaculata
Binomial name
Melanodryas bimaculata (Salvadori, 1874)
Synonyms
Peneothello bimaculata

The white-rumped robin (Melanodryas bimaculata) is a species of bird in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Taxonomy

The white-rumped robin was formally described in 1874 by the Italian zoologist Tommaso Salvadori based on a specimen that had been collected by Luigi D'Albertis at Putat in the Arfak Mountains or northwest New Guinea. Salvadori was unsure of the genus and gave the binomial name as Myiolestes ? bimaculatus. ^{[2] [3]} The specific epithet is Modern Latin meaning "two-spotted" or "double-spotted". ^[4] The white-rumped robin was formerly placed in the genus Peneothella, ^{[3] [5]} but in 2025 Peneothello was merged into a more broadly defined Melanodryas . This change was based on the results of a 2011 molecular genetic study of the Australasian robins by Les Christidis and coworkers. ^{[6] [7]}

Two subspecies are recognised: ^[7]

• M. b. bimaculata (Salvadori, AT, 1874) – mountains of northwestern New Guinea
• M. b. vicaria (De Vis, CW, 1892) – mountains of southeastern New Guinea and Huon Peninsula

Description

Measuring 13 to 14 cm (5.1 to 5.5 in), the white-rumped robin has black plumage with a white rump and upper tail coverts. It has white patches on the sides of its breast. The abdomen is white in the nominate subspecies, and black with some white in the subspecies vicarius. The female closely resembles the male, but its black feathers have brown tinges. The bill and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown. ^[8]

Distribution and habitat

The white-rumped robin is found in the highlands of New Guinea from altitudes of 300 to 1,700 m (980 to 5,580 ft). Within the rainforest it is found in pairs in the understory or on the ground. It is insectivorous. ^[8]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Peneothello bimaculata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016 e.T22704900A93990576. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704900A93990576.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Salvadori, Tommaso (1874). "Altre nuove specie di uccelli raccolte nella Nuova Guinea et di Gorman raccolte dal Signor L. M. d'Albertis". Annali del Museo civico di storia naturale di Genova (in Italian and Latin). 6: 81-88 [84].
3. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 580.
4. Jobling, James A. "bimaculatus". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
5. Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 261. ISBN   978-0-9568611-2-2.
6. Christidis, L.; Irestedt, M.; Rowe, D.; Boles, W.E.; Norman, J.A. (2011). "Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA phylogenies reveal a complex evolutionary history in the Australasian robins (Passeriformes: Petroicidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (3): 726–738. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.08.014.
7. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi: 10.2173/avilist.v2025 . Retrieved 14 November 2025.
8. Coates, Brian J. (1990). The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Volume II. Queensland: Dove Publications. pp. 198–99. ISBN   978-0-9590257-1-2. OCLC   153651608.