Western yellow robin
Western yellow robin | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Infraorder: | Passerides
|
Family: | Petroicidae |
Genus: | Eopsaltria |
Species: | E. griseogularis
|
Binomial name | |
Eopsaltria griseogularis | |
Range – subsp. griseogularis – yellow hybrid zone – light green subspecies rosinae – dark green |
The western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) is a species of
The species inhabits open
Taxonomy
English ornithologist John Gould described the western yellow robin as Eopsaltria griseogularis in 1838, referring to a specimen collected at the Swan River Colony.[2] The genus Eopsaltria had been introduced by English naturalist William Swainson six years earlier for what is now the eastern yellow robin (E. australis).[3] The specific name is derived from the Medieval Latin words griseus, meaning 'grey', and gula meaning "throat".[4] Gould reported that it was common both at the new colony on the Swan Coastal Plain and at any site with brush-like shrubs.[5] It was included in the first collection of local fauna assembled for the newly founded Zoological Society of London in the 1830s.[6]
In 1979, Western Australian ornithologist Julian Ford proposed treatment of the western and eastern yellow robin as a single species on account of similarities in calls, ecology, and behavior. Playback of one species' calls in the other's territory evoked a response.[7] Bird taxonomist Richard Schodde did not feel that this finding warranted the lumping of the two species and concluded in 1999 that they formed a superspecies.[8] Analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of Australasian robins in 2009 and 2011 revealed that the divergence between the eastern and western yellow robin was consistent with species-level separation, confirming their status as distinct species.[9][10]
Amateur ornithologist Gregory Mathews described a second subspecies—Eopsaltria griseogularis rosinae—in 1912,[11] named for Ethel Rosina White, wife of South Australian ornithologist, Samuel Albert White.[12][a] Schodde observed that the delineation between subspecies does not correspond with a change in habitat and was hence valid.[8]
Western yellow robin is the official name given to this species by the
Gould called it 'grey-breasted robin' in 1848,
Description
The western yellow robin ranges between 13.5 and 15.5 cm (5+1⁄4 and 6 in) long, with a wingspan of 24–27.5 cm (9+1⁄2–10+3⁄4 in) and weight of 20 g (0.7 oz). The male and female are similar in size and coloration, with no seasonal variation in plumage.[11] The head, neck, and upper parts are grey, with a white throat fading into a grey breast. The lores are black, the eyebrows are paler grey, and there is some faint pale streaking over the ear coverts. The underparts are yellow and clearly delineated from the breast. The rump and upper tail coverts are yellow in the nominate subspecies and olive-green in subspecies rosinae. There is a broad area of intermediate coloration between the core ranges of the two subspecies. Birds of subspecies rosinae have longer wings and tail overall, and a shorter bill and tarsus. Those from the west coast between Cliff Head and Kalbarri are significantly smaller overall. Intermediate forms between the two subspecies are found over a broad band between Lancelin and Jurien Bay southeast through the inner Wheatbelt to the coast between Denmark and Fitzgerald River National Park.[19]
Juveniles have dark brownish head, neck, and upper parts coarsely streaked with creamy white. The lores are black. The chin and throat are grey-white, the breast is cream and brown, and the belly is white or off-white, tinged with brown.[20] They molt after a few months into immature plumage, resembling adults but retaining some brownish flight feathers and secondary coverts on their wings and tail.[21]
The western yellow robin produces its song with sequences of extended whistles, begun with two briefly piped notes.[22] Its song is often heard before dawn, described as having a mournful quality, and is a familiar sound in southwest forests and woodlands. It also utters a scolding call, transcribed as ch-churr or churr-churr, and a two-syllabled zitting call. Around nesting time, the female utters a courtship or food-begging call, composed of a long note with a deeper staccato note at the end.[23]
It does not resemble any other species within its range. The similar eastern yellow robin is found only in the eastern states. Immature birds closely resemble immature white-breasted robins (Quoyornis georgianus), though both are usually close by their respective parents.[20] Young western yellow robins also have an olive tinge to the edges of their flight and tail feathers,[24] and gain yellow feathers on their bellies as they molt from juvenile plumage.[20]
Distribution and habitat
In Western Australia, the western yellow robin is found south and west of an imaginary line between Kalbarri and Norseman, though it is largely absent from the coastal plain between Dongara and Rockingham. It is a rare vagrant north to Shark Bay and Toolonga Nature Reserve. Along the southern coastline, it occurs in a broken distribution to the South Australian border, at Eucla, Hampton Tableland, and the Roe Plains. In South Australia, it is found from Yalata east to the Eyre Peninsula where it extends north to the Gawler Ranges and east to Middleback Range.[20] It is sedentary across its range.[20]
The
Within its range, the western yellow robin is found in
Behaviour
The social behaviour of the western yellow robin has been little studied. The species is usually found alone or in pairs, and less commonly in small groups—most likely a mated pair and helper birds.[26] In autumn and winter, western yellow robins may join mixed hunting flocks with other insect-eating birds,[26] such as Gilbert's honeyeater (Melithreptus chloropsis), western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus), grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa), and thornbills (Acanthiza species).[27]
Breeding
Breeding takes place between July and early January, most commonly between September and November.[23] Pairs generally attempt two broods a season.[28] The female has been observed to select the nest site.[26] The nest is located in the fork or on a branch of a tree, usually a eucalypt, such as marri (Corymbia calophylla), jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata), and wandoo in Western Australia, or sugar gum (Eucalyptus cladocalyx) in South Australia. Other trees include snottygobble (Persoonia longifolia), native cypress (Callitris), Jacksonia, Acacia, or she-oak (Casuarinaceae). In more arid country, they may choose mallee eucalypts, bluebush (Maireana),[23] or quandong (Santalum acuminatum).[28] Fieldwork in the Dryandra Woodland found nests were located in the lower part of the tree canopy, so birds were able to have a clear view of the ground, and be concealed by foliage from aerial predators above.[29]
The nest is an open cup made of strips of bark, grass, and twigs.
The
Feeding
Arthropods, particularly insects, form the bulk of the western yellow robin's diet, although seeds are sometimes eaten. It hunts by scanning the ground from branches or trunks of trees and pouncing on its prey mostly on the ground.[27] One study in Dryandra Woodland found that western yellow robins caught 96% of their prey on the ground,[32] while fieldwork in the same locale showed that they often forage near fallen logs, particularly in the warmer months. Leaf litter near logs often retains more moisture in warmer months and thus shelters more abundant prey.[33] The foraging behavior was first described as resembling the robins of Europe, making short flights to the ground and returning to a twig or branch and seemingly incapable of sustained flight. The appearance of this behavior has been familiar to observers near frontiers of land clearing, although the roosting habits are carefully obscured.[5][34]
Conservation
The
Explanatory notes
- ^ Mathews was a controversial figure in Australian ornithology. He was responsible for bringing trinomial nomenclature into local taxonomy, but was regarded as an extreme splitter. He recognized many subspecies on scant evidence and few notes. In particular, this drew a hostile response from Archibald James Campbell, a leading Australian figure in birds at the time. He later began splitting genera. Dominic Serventy foretold that, although a great many of these subspecies ceased to be recognized, future research would have to resort to the use of some of them, if and when evidence supported their distinct status.[13]
References
Citations
- ^ . e.T22704853A93988693.
- ^ a b Gould, John (1838). A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, and the Adjacent Islands. Vol. 1. London: Published by the author. p. 2.
- ^ Swainson, William John; Richardson, J. (1831). Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America. Vol. Part 2. The Birds. London: J. Murray. pp. 492–493. The title page bears the year 1831 but the volume did not appear until 1832.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-643-10471-6.
- ^ a b Gould, John. (1865). Handbook to the Birds of Australia. Vol. 1. London: Published by the author. pp. 294–295.
- ^ Abbott, Ian (2008). "Historical perspectives of the ecology of some conspicuous vertebrate species in south-west Western Australia" (PDF). Conservation Science Western Australia. 6 (3): 42–48.
- .
- ^ ISBN 978-0-643-06456-0.
- PMID 19463962.
- PMID 21867765.
- ^ a b c Higgins 2002, p. 789.
- ^ Jobling, J. A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- doi:10.1071/MU949257.
- ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Australasian robins, rockfowl, rockjumpers, Rail-babbler". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
- ISBN 0-207-15400-7.
- PMID 30936315.
- ^ a b Gould, John (1848). The Birds of Australia. Vol. 3. London: self. Plate [12] and text.
- ^ Abbott, Ian (2009). "Aboriginal names of bird species in south-west Western Australia, with suggestions for their adoption into common usage" (PDF). Conservation Science Western Australia. 7 (2): 213–278 [263].
- ^ Higgins 2002, p. 797.
- ^ a b c d e f g Higgins 2002, p. 790.
- ^ Higgins 2002, p. 795.
- ^ Boles, W. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D. A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Western Yellow Robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ a b c Higgins 2002, p. 793.
- ^ Higgins 2002, p. 796.
- ^ S2CID 86736612.
- ^ a b c Higgins 2002, p. 792.
- ^ a b Higgins 2002, p. 791.
- ^ a b c d e Higgins 2002, p. 794.
- ^ Cousin, Jarrad A. (2009). "Nest site selection by the western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) in Wandoo woodland, Western Australia" (PDF). Corella. 33 (2): 30–34.
- ^ Lowther, Peter E. (26 April 2013). "Host List of Avian Brood Parasites – Cuculiformes: Old World Cuckoos" (PDF). Field Museum. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ Australian Bird & Bat Banding Scheme (ABBBS) (2017). "ABBBS Database Search: Eopsaltria griseogularis (western yellow robin)". Bird and bat banding database. Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
- .
- doi:10.1071/PC040021.
- ISBN 9780958536721.
Cited texts
- Higgins, Peter J.; Peter, Jeffrey M., eds. (2002). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-553762-9.
External links