White-browed Robin
Encyclopedia
The White-browed Robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) is a species of bird
in the family Petroicidae
. It is endemic to north-eastern Australia
. Its natural habitat
s are forest, woodland and scrub, often near water. It formerly included the Buff-sided Robin
as a subspecies
.
The White-browed Robin was described by the naturalist John Gould
in 1847; the genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
words poikilos "little" and dryas "dryad". The species name is derived from the Latin
word supercilium "eyebrow". It is a member of the Australasian Robin family Petroicidae
, or Eopsaltridae. 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.
The White-browed Robin has, as its name suggests, a prominent white marking resembling an eyebrow above its eyes. It has olive-brown upperparts, with a white patch on the wings. The underparts are pale, the breast pale grey and belly white. The bill is black and eyes are dark brown.
It is endemic to Australia, where it is found from the Cape York Peninsula
south to the Burdekin River
in Queensland.
Breeding occurs from August or September to February or March, with one or two broods per season. The nest is a neat cup made of bark and grass. Spider web
s, feathers and fur are used for binding or filling, the outside is decorated by lichen or bits of bark .
The nest is generally placed in a tree fork or hanging vine up a few metres above the ground. A clutch of two eggs is laid. The eggs are cream to buff, and marked with brown splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end, and measure 20 by 15 mm.
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...
. It is endemic to north-eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are forest, woodland and scrub, often near water. It formerly included the Buff-sided Robin
Buff-sided Robin
The Buff-sided Robin is a small bird in the Petroicidae family. It is endemic to northern Australia.-Description:...
as a subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
.
The White-browed Robin was described by the naturalist John Gould
John Gould
John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
in 1847; the genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words poikilos "little" and dryas "dryad". The species name is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word supercilium "eyebrow". It 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...
, or Eopsaltridae. 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.
The White-browed Robin has, as its name suggests, a prominent white marking resembling an eyebrow above its eyes. It has olive-brown upperparts, with a white patch on the wings. The underparts are pale, the breast pale grey and belly white. The bill is black and eyes are dark brown.
It is endemic to Australia, where it is found from the Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
south to the Burdekin River
Burdekin River
The Burdekin River in Queensland, Australia rises on the western slope of the Seaview Range and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Upstart Bay over 200 km to the southeast of the source. The river was first encountered by Europeans during the expedition led by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 and named...
in Queensland.
Breeding occurs from August or September to February or March, with one or two broods per season. The nest is a neat cup made of bark and grass. Spider web
Spider 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, feathers and fur are used for binding or filling, the outside is decorated by lichen or bits of bark .
The nest is generally placed in a tree fork or hanging vine up a few metres above the ground. A clutch of two eggs is laid. The eggs are cream to buff, and marked with brown splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end, and measure 20 by 15 mm.