White-breasted Robin
Encyclopedia
The White-breasted Robin (Eopsaltria georgiana) is a species of bird
in the Petroicidae
family. It is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia
. Unlike many other Australian robins, it lacks bright colours in its plumage, being a predominantly greyish bird with white underparts. Like many other Australian passerines of the Corvida
group, it is a cooperative breeder. It is sedentary, with pairs or small groups maintaining territories.
naturalist
s Jean René Constant Quoy
and Joseph Paul Gaimard
in 1830 as Muscicapa georgiana. It was later described in its current genus by John Gould
in 1846 as Eopsaltria leucogaster, though as the former took precedence its specific name remains georgiana. 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
. This species has also been known as the White-bellied Robin and White-breasted Shrike-robin.
A 2009 genetic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA has unexpectedly placed the White-breasted Robin as sister taxon to the two Tregellasia
robins native to northeastern Australia.
south from Geraldton
to the southwest corner of the continent. In the southern part of its range, the White-breasted Robin frequents open forest, often near rivers. It prefers coastal scrub in the north. It is sedentary, with pairs or small groups maintaining territories in its range.
birds who help raise young. Helper birds are mostly male; female birds are more likely to leave the territory in the first year of their life, while males are more likely to remain.
s, generally located in a tree fork in dense scrub close to a watercourse.. Two pale olive- to blue-green eggs, often splotched with a darker variant of the background colour, are laid. They measure 16 mm x 21 mm, and one is often much paler than the other. Incubation lasts 16 or 17 days, with young leaving the nest two weeks after hatching.
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 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...
family. It is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Unlike many other Australian robins, it lacks bright colours in its plumage, being a predominantly greyish bird with white underparts. Like many other Australian passerines of 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....
group, it is a cooperative breeder. It is sedentary, with pairs or small groups maintaining territories.
Taxonomy
The White-breasted Robin was first described by the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
s Jean René Constant Quoy
Jean René Constant Quoy
Jean René Constant Quoy was a French zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville...
and Joseph Paul Gaimard
Joseph Paul Gaimard
Joseph Paul Gaimard was a French naval surgeon and naturalist.Along with Jean René Constant Quoy he served as naturalist on the ships L'Uranie under Louis de Freycinet 1817-1820, and L'Astrolabe under Jules Dumont d'Urville 1826-1829...
in 1830 as Muscicapa georgiana. It was later described in its current genus by John Gould
John Gould
John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
in 1846 as Eopsaltria leucogaster, though as the former took precedence its specific name remains georgiana. 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...
. This species has also been known as the White-bellied Robin and White-breasted Shrike-robin.
A 2009 genetic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA has unexpectedly placed the White-breasted Robin as sister taxon to the two Tregellasia
Tregellasia
Tregellasia is a genus of bird in the Petroicidae family. The genus is found in Australia and New Guinea.It contains the following species:* Pale-yellow Robin * White-faced Robin -References:...
robins native to northeastern Australia.
Description
The White-breasted Robin is 14.5 cm (5¾ in) long. Males and females are similar in coloration, with blue-grey upperparts, paler eyebrows, and whitish underparts. The grey tail is tipped with white. Bills and feet are black in colour, while eyes are dark brown. Birds from the northern part of its range are smaller and darker grey in colour. Juveniles are brownish.Distribution and habitat
The White-breasted Robin is found in Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
south from Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...
to the southwest corner of the continent. In the southern part of its range, the White-breasted Robin frequents open forest, often near rivers. It prefers coastal scrub in the north. It is sedentary, with pairs or small groups maintaining territories in its range.
Behaviour
Like many other members of the Corvida, the White-breasted Robin is a cooperative breeder; breeding pairs are often assisted by one or more helperHelpers at the nest
Helpers at the nest is a term used in behavioural ecology and evolutionary biology to describe a social structure in which juveniles and sexually mature adolescents of either one or both sexes, remain in association with their parents and help them raise subsequent broods or litters, instead of...
birds who help raise young. Helper birds are mostly male; female birds are more likely to leave the territory in the first year of their life, while males are more likely to remain.
Breeding
Breeding season is late winter to early summer with up to two broods raised. The nest is a neat cup made of dry grass and bark. Spider webSpider 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....
s, generally located in a tree fork in dense scrub close to a watercourse.. Two pale olive- to blue-green eggs, often splotched with a darker variant of the background colour, are laid. They measure 16 mm x 21 mm, and one is often much paler than the other. Incubation lasts 16 or 17 days, with young leaving the nest two weeks after hatching.