Pale-yellow robin
The pale-yellow robin is a species of passerine bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is an undistinguished bird with a grey head and olive upperparts, white throat and yellow underparts. The genders are similar. Two subspecies are recognised: the smaller nana from North Queensland, and the larger and uncommon nominate race capito from southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. It is also insectivorous.
Taxonomy
The pale-yellow robin was formally described in 1854 as Eopsaltria capito by the English ornithologist John Gould based on a specimen collected near the Brisbane River in Queensland, Australia. The specific epithet is from Latin meaning "big-headed". The pale-yellow robin was formerly usually placed in the genus Tregellasia, but based on a 2011 molecular genetic study by Les Christidis and coworkers, Tregellasia was merged into a more broadly defined Eopsaltria. 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 crows. Alternate common names given to the species have been large-headed robin and pale robin.Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognised:- E. c. capito is the nominate race from rainforests of northeastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland. Larger than the northern subspecies, it has a paler off-white face and is uncommon within its range.
- E. c. nana, described in 1878 as Eopsaltria nana by Edward Ramsay from a specimen collected in Cardwell, has been called the buff-faced or rufous-lored robin, and is found in rainforests in far north Queensland. It is smaller than the southern subspecies, and its subspecific name nana is Latin for 'dwarf'. It has a pale tan face and a pale orange-brown eye ring, hence its common name. It is fairly abundant within its range.
Description
The male and female pale-yellow robin are similar in plumage. Measuring and weighing, it is a bird of subdued appearance, with a grey head and nape blending into olive-green upperparts, more brownish on the wings and tail. The throat is white, and the lores are off-white in the southern race and buff in the northern race. The breast and belly are yellow. The legs are yellow-orange and the iris dark brown. The thin black bill is around long. Juvenile birds are rufous with paler streaks on the head. It can be distinguished from the eastern yellow robin, as the latter bird has black legs and is a little larger.The pale-yellow robin makes a trilling call when displaying or defending its territory.