Ashy Robin
Encyclopedia
The Ashy Robin also known as Black-cheeked Robin, is a species of bird
in the family Petroicidae
native to New Guinea.
from Australia were treated as one species and known as Heteromyias albispecularis. It has also been classified within the genus Poecilodryas
. Described by Italian naturalist Tommaso Salvadori
in 1874, the Ashy Robin is a member of the Australasian Robin family Petroicidae
. Sibley
and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation
studies placed this group in a Corvida
parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, fairy-wrens
, honeyeaters and crows. However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida
(or "advanced" songbirds), within the songbird
lineage.
or on the ground.
s are used for binding or filling. The nest is generally placed in cover 1–3 m (3–7 ft) above the ground. The clutch consists of a single cream- or olive-white egg, marked with light brown or mauve splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end, and measure 24 by 20 mm in size.
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 family 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...
native to New Guinea.
Taxonomy
It is one of two species within the genus Heteromyias. Previously it and the Grey-headed RobinGrey-headed Robin
The Grey-headed Robin is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae.-Taxonomy:It is one of two species within the genus Heteromyias. Previously it and the Ashy Robin from New Guinea were treated as one species and known as Heteromyias albispecularis...
from Australia were treated as one species and known as Heteromyias albispecularis. It has also been classified within the genus Poecilodryas
Poecilodryas
Poecilodryas is a genus of bird in the Petroicidae family.It contains the following species:* Black-chinned Robin * Black-sided Robin * Buff-sided Robin...
. Described by Italian naturalist Tommaso Salvadori
Tommaso Salvadori
Count Adelardo Tommaso Salvadori Paleotti was an Italian zoologist and ornithologist.Salvadori was born in Porto San Giorgio, son of Count Luigi Salvadori and Ethel. He took an early interest in birds and published a catalogue of the birds of Sardinia in 1862...
in 1874, the Ashy Robin is a member of the Australasian Robin family 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...
. Sibley
Charles Sibley
Charles Gald Sibley was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. He had an immense influence on the scientific classification of birds, and the work that Sibley initiated has substantially altered our understanding of the evolutionary history of modern birds.Sibley's taxonomy has been a...
and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation
DNA-DNA hybridisation
DNA-DNA hybridization generally refers to a molecular biology technique that measures the degree of genetic similarity between pools of DNA sequences. It is usually used to determine the genetic distance between two species...
studies placed this group in a 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...
, honeyeaters and crows. However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida
Passerida
Passerida is under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri...
(or "advanced" songbirds), within the songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
lineage.
Description
Measuring 15 to 18 cm (6–7.5 in), the Ashy Robin is a large and solidly built robin. It has a sooty black head and cheeks with a white stripe extending backwards and upwards from the eyes. It has a white throat darkening to buff underparts and olive-brown upperparts. There is a white patch on the otherwise dark-plumaged wing. The bill is grey-black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs pale pink.Distribution and habitat
The Ashy Robin is found along the central mountain range across New Guinea (in both West Papua and Papua New Guinea) from 1400 to 2600 m (4500–8000 ft). Within the rainforest it is found singly or occasionally in pairs in the understoryUnderstory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
or on the ground.
Feeding
It is insectivorous, and hunts by gleaning or snatching, often on the ground. Among its prey are ants, beetles, phasmids, centipedes and earthworms.Breeding
The nest is a shallow cup made of bark, grass, twigs and dry leaves. 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 are used for binding or filling. The nest is generally placed in cover 1–3 m (3–7 ft) above the ground. The clutch consists of a single cream- or olive-white egg, marked with light brown or mauve splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end, and measure 24 by 20 mm in size.