Pink Robin.
Photo: T Quested © T Quested
Distribution map of Petroica rodinogaster
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
Pink Robin
Scientific name: Petroica rodinogaster
Family: Petroicidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
The Pink Robin is a small tubby bird, and is easily over-looked, being quieter than other robins. Males are brownish-black above, with a black throat and head. There is a small white spot above the bill, which is a buff spot on the female. Males have a diagnostic pink wash on the breast which extends right down under the belly. Females are a warm olive-brown above, with cinnamon buff underparts with a pinkish tint. Females and young birds have diagnostic buff wing patches. This species has a plain dark tail, lacking the white edges of other Petroica robins.
Similar species
The Rose Robin, P. rosea, is similar, but the male is not as black, and the pink is only on the breast (it extends further down the abdomen in the Pink Robin). The female and young Pink Robins are a warmer brown (rather than grey) and have diagnostic rich buff double wing bars. The Pink Robin also has no white in its dark tail.Where does it live?
Distribution
Pink Robins are endemic to (only found in) south-eastern Australia.
Habitat
In the breeding season (September to March) Pink Robins are seen singly or in pairs in deep gullies in dense shrub layers of damp and wet forests or rainforests. In winter, they are found in more open and drier habitats.
Seasonal movements
Pink Robins are thought to be partly resident and partly dispersive. They breed throughout Tasmania, King and Flinders Islands and the wetter parts of Victoria and far south eastern New South Wales. Some are thought to move after breeding to drier areas in southern New South Wales, or even to move from Tasmania. This movement is mainly made by the brown-plumaged young birds. Males in Tasmania may remain near or in their breeding range. Birds are more obvious in the winter, when they have moved to more open country. More about their movements is being revealed by Atlas counts and banding.
What does it do?
Feeding
The Pink Robin is an active feeder, darting out from a perch to snatch at insects, then returning to another perch. It usually takes prey on the ground or from low bushes.
Breeding
Pink Robins breed in moist rainforest and may nest twice each season. The nest is a deep cup of green moss, bound with spiders web, lined with fine soft grass, fern or fur. The nest is placed in a mossy or lichen-covered fork of a tree or shrub. The female incubates and broods the young while she is fed by the male.
Living with us
Living with humans
Breeding habitat for Pink Robins has been reduced by clear-felling of rainforest, affecting the species' overall breeding success. This species is listed as vulnerable in New South Wales.
References
Morcombe, M. 2000. Field guide to Australian Birds. Steve Parish Publishing.
Higgins, P.J. and J.M. Peter (eds) 2002. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
Beruldsen, G 2003. Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Self-published, Queensland.