Black-chinned Robin
Encyclopedia
The Black-chinned Robin (Poecilodryas brachyura) is a species of bird
in the family Petroicidae
found in Indonesia
and Papua New Guinea
. Its natural habitat
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
s.
Described by English naturalist Philip Sclater
in 1874, the Black-chinned Robin is a member of the Australasian Robin family Petroicidae
. Its genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
words poikilos "little" and dryas "dryad", and the species name brachyura is derived from the Ancient Greek words brachys "short" and ouros "tail". 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. 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.
Measuring 14 to 15 cm (5.5–6 in), the Black-chinned Robin has dark brown to black head and upperparts with a prominent white stripe or "eyebrow" above the eye. The chin is black immediately under the bill. Its tail is markedly shorter than other Australasian robins. The throat and underparts are white, and there is a white bar on the otherwise dark-plumaged wing. The bill is black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs pale brown or pink. Its song is a descending series of notes and resembles that of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo
.
The Black-chinned Robin is found predominantly in the lowland forests of northwestern and central New Guinea (mainly in West Papua and only a little in Papua New Guinea's northwest) from sea level to 650 m (2000 ft). Within the rainforest it is found in pairs in the understory
or on the ground. It is insectivorous, and hunts by gleaning. It is a weak flyer.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the family Petroicidae
Petroicidae
The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 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...
found in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s.
Described by English naturalist Philip Sclater
Philip Sclater
Philip Lutley Sclater was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world...
in 1874, the Black-chinned Robin is a member of the Australasian Robin family Petroicidae
Petroicidae
The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 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...
. Its genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words poikilos "little" and dryas "dryad", and the species name brachyura is derived from the Ancient Greek words brachys "short" and ouros "tail". Sibley
Charles Sibley
Charles Gald Sibley was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. He had an immense influence on the scientific classification of birds, and the work that Sibley initiated has substantially altered our understanding of the evolutionary history of modern birds.Sibley's taxonomy has been a...
and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation
DNA-DNA hybridisation
DNA-DNA hybridization generally refers to a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between pools of DNA sequences. It is usually used to determine the genetic distance between two species...
studies placed this group in a Corvida
Corvida
The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder....
parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, fairy-wrens
Maluridae
The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
, honeyeaters and crows. However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida
Passerida
Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri...
(or "advanced" songbirds) within the songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
lineage.
Measuring 14 to 15 cm (5.5–6 in), the Black-chinned Robin has dark brown to black head and upperparts with a prominent white stripe or "eyebrow" above the eye. The chin is black immediately under the bill. Its tail is markedly shorter than other Australasian robins. The throat and underparts are white, and there is a white bar on the otherwise dark-plumaged wing. The bill is black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs pale brown or pink. Its song is a descending series of notes and resembles that of the Fan-tailed Cuckoo
Fan-tailed Cuckoo
The Fan-tailed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.-Habitat:...
.
The Black-chinned Robin is found predominantly in the lowland forests of northwestern and central New Guinea (mainly in West Papua and only a little in Papua New Guinea's northwest) from sea level to 650 m (2000 ft). Within the rainforest it is found in pairs in the understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
or on the ground. It is insectivorous, and hunts by gleaning. It is a weak flyer.