Eastern Yellow Robin
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria australis) is an Australasian robin of coastal and sub-coastal eastern Australia
. The extent of the Eastern Yellow Robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia
through most of Victoria and the western half of New South Wales
and north as far as Cooktown. Tropical Northern Queensland
birds are mainly restricted to the warm heights of the Great Dividing Range
.
in 1790. Two subspecies are recognised; the Northern Yellow Robin (subsp. chrysorrhoa) and the nominate or Eastern (subsp. australis). The former was previously regarded as a separate species and called the Southern Yellow Robin.
Alternately, the The Eastern and Western Yellow Robin
s were classified as a single species by Julian Ford in 1979 on account of similarities in calls, ecology and behaviour. Playback of one species' calls in the other's territory evoked a response.
Like all Australian Robins, it is not closely related to either the European Robin
or the American Robin
, but belongs rather to the Corvida
parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, Fairy-wrens
and honeyeaters as well as crow
s. It belongs to the genus Eopsaltria
, whose Australian members are known colloquially as "Yellow Robins" as distinct from the "Red Robins" of the genus Petroica
.
any great distance, but will make local movements with the seasons, particularly to higher and lower ground.
, acacia
scrub, woodlands and sclerophyll
forests, but is most often found in damper places or near water. Like all Australian robins, the Eastern Yellow tends to inhabit fairly dark, shaded locations and is a perch and pounce hunter, typically from a tree trunk, wire, or low branch. Their diet is a wide range of small creatures, mostly insect
s. Breeding takes place in the spring and, as with many Australian birds, is often communal. The nest is a neat cup made of fine plant material and spider web
, usually placed in a fork, and expertly disguised with lichen, moss, bark, or leaves.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The extent of the Eastern Yellow Robin's residence is from the extreme southeast corner of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
through most of Victoria and the western half of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and north as far as Cooktown. Tropical Northern Queensland
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
birds are mainly restricted to the warm heights of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
.
Taxonomy
The Eastern Yellow Robin was first described by ornithologist George ShawGeorge Shaw
George Shaw was an English botanist and zoologist.Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A. in 1772. He took up the profession of medical practitioner. In 1786 he became the assistant lecturer in botany at Oxford University...
in 1790. Two subspecies are recognised; the Northern Yellow Robin (subsp. chrysorrhoa) and the nominate or Eastern (subsp. australis). The former was previously regarded as a separate species and called the Southern Yellow Robin.
Alternately, the The Eastern and Western Yellow Robin
Western Yellow Robin
The Western Yellow Robin is a species of bird in the Petroicidae family. It is endemic to Australia, and sometimes known overseas as the Grey-breasted Robin....
s were classified as a single species by Julian Ford in 1979 on account of similarities in calls, ecology and behaviour. Playback of one species' calls in the other's territory evoked a response.
Like all Australian Robins, it is not closely related to either the European Robin
European Robin
The European Robin , most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family , but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher...
or the American Robin
American Robin
The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family...
, but belongs rather to the 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...
and honeyeaters as well as crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
s. It belongs to the genus Eopsaltria
Eopsaltria
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...
, whose Australian members are known colloquially as "Yellow Robins" as distinct from the "Red Robins" of the genus Petroica
Petroica
Petroica is a genus of Australasian robins, named due to their red and pink markings. They are not closely related to the European Robin nor the American robin...
.
Description
At 15 to 16 cm (6 in) in length, the Eastern Yellow Robin is one of the larger Australasian robins, and one of the most easily observed. Pairs and small family parties establish a territory—sometimes year-round, sometimes for a season—and seem little disturbed by human presence. They appear not to migrateBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
any great distance, but will make local movements with the seasons, particularly to higher and lower ground.
Distribution and habitat
The Eastern Yellow Robin occupies a wide range of nubs: heaths, malleeMallee Woodlands and Shrublands
Mallee Woodlands and Shrublands is a Major Vegetation Group which occurs in semi-arid areas of southern Australia. The vegetation is dominated by mallee eucalypts which are rarely over 6 metres high...
, acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
scrub, woodlands and sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forests, but is most often found in damper places or near water. Like all Australian robins, the Eastern Yellow tends to inhabit fairly dark, shaded locations and is a perch and pounce hunter, typically from a tree trunk, wire, or low branch. Their diet is a wide range of small creatures, mostly insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s. Breeding takes place in the spring and, as with many Australian birds, is often communal. The nest is a neat cup made of fine plant material and spider web
Spider web
A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web or cobweb is a device built by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets....
, usually placed in a fork, and expertly disguised with lichen, moss, bark, or leaves.