# Pink robin

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The **pink robin** (***Petroica rodinogaster***) is a small [passerine](/source/Passerine) bird native to southeastern [Australia](/source/Australia). Its natural [habitats](/source/Habitat) are cool temperate [forests](/source/Forest) of far southeastern Australia.[1] Like many brightly coloured robins of the family [Petroicidae](/source/Petroicidae), it is [sexually dimorphic](/source/Sexual_dimorphism). Measuring 13.5 cm (5.3 in) in length, the robin has a small, thin, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs.[2] The male has a distinctive white forehead spot and pink breast, with grey-black upperparts, wings and tail. The belly is white. The female has grey-brown plumage.[3] The position of the pink robin and its Australian relatives on the passerine family tree is unclear; the Petroicidae are not closely related to either the [European](/source/European_robin) or [American robins](/source/American_robin), but appear to be an early offshoot of the [Passerida](/source/Passerida) group of [songbirds](/source/Songbird).

## Taxonomy

Described by Belgian naturalist [Auguste Drapiez](/source/Auguste_Drapiez) in 1819, the pink robin is a member of the Australasian robin family [Petroicidae](/source/Petroicidae).[4][5] [Sibley](/source/Charles_Sibley) and [Ahlquist](/source/Jon_Ahlquist)'s [DNA-DNA hybridisation](/source/DNA-DNA_hybridisation) studies placed this group in a [Corvida](/source/Corvida) [parvorder](/source/Parvorder) comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including [pardalotes](/source/Pardalotidae), [fairy-wrens](/source/Maluridae), [honeyeaters](/source/Meliphagidae), and crows.[6] However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the [Passerida](/source/Passerida) (or "advanced" songbirds) within the [songbird](/source/Songbird) lineage.[7] Testing of the nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of Australian members of the genus *Petroica* suggests that the pink and [rose robins](/source/Rose_robin) are each other's closest relative within the genus.[8]

The generic name [Petroica](/source/Petroica) derives from the Ancient Greek *petros* 'stone' and *oikos* 'house'. The specific name *rodinogaster* derives from the Ancient Greek *rhodinos* 'pink' and *gaster* 'belly'.[9]

## Description

The pink robin is 13.5 cm (5.5 in) long and displays [sexual dimorphism](/source/Sexual_dimorphism) – the males and females have [plumage](/source/Plumage) which differ markedly. The male has a dark blackish-grey head, throat, back, wings and tail, a pink breast and belly fading to white on the lower abdomen, and a white forehead. The female is dark grey-brown above, with two buff-coloured wing-bars and pinkish-tinged underparts. The bill and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown.[10]

## Distribution and habitat

Its range is the forests of southern [Victoria](/source/Victoria_(Australia)) and neighbouring parts of [South Australia](/source/South_Australia) and [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), and [Tasmania](/source/Tasmania).[10]

## Breeding

Breeding occurs from September to January. The nest is a well-made, neat, deep cup of moss. [Spider webs](/source/Spider_web), feathers and fur are used for binding or filling, and the nest is generally placed in a tree fork up to 5 m (15 ft) above the ground. A clutch of three or four eggs is laid. The eggs, which measure 18 by 14 mm, are greyish-, greenish- or blueish-white, and are marked with dark brown and lavender splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end.[11]

## Feeding

Prey consists of a variety of spiders and insects, including caterpillars, [ichneumon wasps](/source/Ichneumon_wasp), beetles, flies and ants.[12]

## References

1. ["Pink Robin"](https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/pink-robin/). *BirdLife Australia*. Retrieved 2024-02-03.

1. ["Pink robin (Petroica rodinogaster) - JungleDragon"](https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/4431/pink_robin.html). *www.jungledragon.com*. Retrieved 2024-02-03.

1. ["Pink Robin - eBird"](https://ebird.org/species/pinrob1). *ebird.org*. Retrieved 2024-02-03.

1. Gill, F. and D. Donsker, eds. (2020). IOC World Bird List (v 10.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.1. [http://www.worldbirdnames.org/](http://www.worldbirdnames.org/)

1. Boles, Walter E. (1988). *The Robins and Flycatchers of Australia*. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. p. 35. ISBN 0-207-15400-7.

1. Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE (1990). *Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution*. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. pp. 603, 610–27. ISBN 0-300-04085-7.

1. Barker, F. Keith; Cibois, Alice; Schikler, Peter A.; Feinstein, Julie; & Cracraft, Joel (2004). ["Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation"](http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0401892101v1.pdf). *[PNAS](/source/Proceedings_of_the_National_Academy_of_Sciences)*. **101** (30): 11040–45. [Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004PNAS..10111040B). [doi:10.1073/pnas.0401892101](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0401892101). [PMC 503738](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC503738). [PMID 15263073](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15263073). Retrieved 2008-08-14.

1. Loynes, Kate; Joseph, Leo; Keogh, J. Scott (2009). "Multi-locus phylogeny clarifies the systematics of the Australo-Papuan robins (Family Petroicidae, Passeriformes)". *Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution*. **53** (1): 212–19. [Bibcode:2009MolPE..53..212L](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009MolPE..53..212L). [doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.012](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.012). [PMID 19463962](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19463962)

1. Jobling, James A. ["Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird-names"](https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling). Retrieved 2020-04-07.

1. Slater, Peter (1974). *A Field Guide to Australian Birds: Passerines*. Adelaide: Rigby. p. 171. ISBN 0-85179-813-6.

1. Beruldsen, Gordon (2003). *Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs*. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. p. 340. ISBN 0-646-42798-9.

1. Barker RD, Vestjens WJ (1984). *The Food of Australian Birds: (II) Passerines*. Melbourne University Press. p. 53. ISBN 0-643-05115-5.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pink robin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_robin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_robin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.