#petroicidae

Pink Robin (Petroica rodinogaster), family Petroicidae, order Passeriformes, SE Australia

today we have the black-capped robin, a small songbird of the inland mountain forests of New Guinea. a member of the family Petroicidae, or Australasian robins, they aren't meaningfully related to either Old World or New World robins. and those two aren't meaningfully related to each other either, being Old World flycatchers and thrushes respectively! their name simply comes from the superficial resemblance of their brighter-breasted family members - which rather evidently does not include today's monochromatic critter! the black-capped robin is an insectivore, utilizing the energy-efficient but at times unreliable sit-and-wait method for securing prey.

interestingly, up to four subspecies are recognized, each native to different sections of the mountain range which stretches diagonally across New Guinea's center. the type subspecies is from the southeast. subspecies centralis is, predictably, from the central mountains, distinguished by its less extensive white facial markings. subspecies rothschildi is of the western mountains, and bears olive-toned back feathers. and finally, subspecies atricapillus bears a blacker head and more rusty-red tail, native to the disjunct mountains of the northeast.

how in the world they managed such diversity with such a relatively small and environmentally selective range is beyond me. likely has to do with a genetic predisposition to mutations in color. and yeah - in the third picture, the adult bird has a mutated white feather atop their head. i imagine there's a fair deal of individual variation in the populations, and we'd likely see more of it should it receive more researchers' interest - seriously, twenty-eight photos is not a lot of documentation!

22 July 2026

Bird #27 - the black robin (VU)

After so many extinct birds, I think it's good to look at a bit of an opposite case!

The black robin, also known as the Chatham robin, resides in the Chatham Islands, where introduced mammals and habitat loss almost wiped out the species. In 1980 there were only 5 robins left on a single island, and only one breeding pair existed.

Conservationists rushed in. The birds were moved onto a neighbouring island that was larger and had more suitable habitat. The number of offspring produced every year was increased - they collected the first clutch of eggs for a foster species to raise, and the black robins would go on to lay a second clutch. Quarantining the island from predators was (and still is) important to maintain the population.

Thanks to all the past efforts, the population has risen to around 300 in 2021 from that single pair! Obviously this creates a tight genetic bottleneck, but it seems inbreeding actually hasn't impacted the species too much, likely because it's already adapted to having small populations on island habitats. Numbers are now stable. :)

Saw this Pink Robin on Cornell Birds' Instagram, had to draw the adorable little guy

Reference photo by Deepak Karra

This little bloke flew up to me and gave me the filthiest expression I've ever got from a bird.

AKA in Māori as the kakaruwai.

Endemic to the South Island - the Stewart Island Robin (P. australis rakiura) is endemic to Stewart Island to the south. There's also the  North Island Robin (P. longipes) and the extremely rare Black Robin (P. traversi) of the Chatham Islands.

The diet is mostly leaf litter invertebrates, often cached nearby. The birds can differentiate and prioritise caches of up to 12 total items, without training - the highest recorded numerical competency of any wild animal.

Their population is now fragmented by habitat loss and introduced predators, although the Stewart Island subspecies has suffered far worse and was down to an estimated 500 individuals at one point.