Robins of various varieties

This post has been stimulated by hearing the first Rose Robin in our area since we moved here in 2007.

I will start by noting- for those of English background - that these birds are not closely related to the European Robin Erithacus rubecula.  

As described in the excellent book by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray, the use of the term 'Robin' arose through the red breast of the Scarlet Robin (presumably the male). 

The female of this species also has a red breast but much less so.

The species is very common in this area being reported in 65 (83%) of the 78 months for which I have records.  My impression is that in the Carwoola area some birds move through the area in an altitudinal migration from and to breeding territories in the ranges.  This is more pronounced in Canberra where the birds are far more common in Winter.  (In the COG GBS Survey this species is the 67th (out of 240) most abundant bird.

The other common 'red' breasted robin in this area is the male Flame Robin.  

Note the more 'orangey' colour and that the colour goes right to base of the bill rather than stopping at the top of the breast.  ('Flames go up' is a mnemonic for this feature.)

Unfortunately the female has no red on the breast.

Even less fortunately it is almost impossible in the field to establish whether a 'brown bird' is a female or an immature male.

The species is less common than the Scarlet Robin being recorded in 46 months (59%).  The reports show a distinct peak in Winter.

This species is regarded as being threatened in New South Wales.  I was astonished to read this as I did so on returning from a visit to the Hoskinstown Plain where a group of 15+ birds flew along a fence line in front of me.  At times in Winter it can also seem that every fence post along the road to Foxlow Bridge has a Flame Robin perched on it.  In the GBS Survey this species is ranked 107.

The Rose Robin which generated this post is also regarded as a red breasted species although I feel this pushes the envelope of responses to the question "What is red?".  Again the male is the colourful bird.

I don't have an image of the female, but again it is a brown bird with a very faint 'hint" of rose on the breast.  Obviously nothing - other than "unusual" - can be said about the distribution of the species in Carwoola.  In the GBS it is ranked just above the Flame Robin at 105.

The final red robin in this area is the exquisite Red-capped Robin.  

The female is again brown, but with a noticeable 'dob' of chestnut on the forehead.  This has been recorded twice in the Carwoola area both times in 2010.  It is also very uncommon in Canberra rating 190th in the GBS.

We now move on to Robins that aren't red.  The first does at least show the black back found in the males of the preceding species.  This is the Hooded Robin.  I have stolen my image - taken by Geoffrey Dabb -  from the COG Photo Gallery.

We have recorded this species 8 (10%) times in the Carwoola area, typically once a year in Winter or Spring.  My personal sightings have come from the Snow-gum (Eucalyptus pauciflora) remnants near the Foxlow Bridge.  In the GBS this is ranked 137th.

The final 'colourful' species is the Eastern Yellow Robin.  

The male and female are similarly coloured.  

The occurrence of this species has been very interesting.  In this chart I have plotted as columns the % of months (as I haven't recorded in all months in 2007 and 2013) in which the species has been recorded.

The line shows the mm of rainfall recorded (or estimated for 2013).   Looking at more detail than needs to be reproduced here, for the first 3 years there were occasional records in Autumn or Spring (I think mainly in Yanununbeyan SCA).  However in 2010 the Spring bird(s) hung around and have been recorded nearly every month since in our garden.  This residency is surprising since they are regarded primarily as birds of the damp gullies in Namadgi as shown in this poor scan of a map from the Canberra Bird Atlas (an exception to this rule is the dense planting in ANBG where the birds can be seen at all times).

My only explanation of this is that a pair have found a clump of dense plantings, including some large Cupressus, to their liking and have set up residence there.

The final bird is amongst the drabbest in colour of all birds and doesn't even feature the word 'Robin' in its name.   This is the Jacky Winter.  The following image is by David Cook.

This has been reported in 2 months, and that is really all I can say for the local area.  For the COG GBS it is ranked 145th.