The ashy robin (''Heteromyias albispecularis''), also known as the black-cheeked robin, is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Petroicidae The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 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 th ...

native to New Guinea.

Taxonomy

It is one of three species within the genus ''Heteromyias''. Previously, it and the

grey-headed robin The grey-headed robin (''Heteromyias cinereifrons'') is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is found in northeastern Cape York Peninsula. Taxonomy It is one of two species within the genus ''Heteromyias''. Previously, it and the ...

from Australia were treated as one species and known as ''Heteromyias albispecularis''. The black-capped robin (''H. armiti'') was formerly considered a subspecies of ''H. albispecularis'', but more recent studies indicate it is a distinct species, and it has been split from it (the subspecies ''H. a. rothschildi'' has also been carried over to ''armiti''). It has also been classified within the genus ''

Poecilodryas ''Poecilodryas'' is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. The genus was erected by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1865. The type species was subsequently designated as the buff-sided ...

''. Described by Italian naturalist,

Tommaso Salvadori Count Adelardo Tommaso Salvadori Paleotti (30 September 1835 – 9 October 1923) was an Italian zoologist and ornithologist. Biography Salvadori was born in Porto San Giorgio, son of Count Luigi Salvadori and Ethelyn Welby, who was English. His ...

, in 1874, the ashy robin is a member of the Australasian robin family

. Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation studies placed this group in a

Corvida The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, the other being Passerida. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder. More recent resea ...

parvorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens,

honeyeaters The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea ...

, and crows. However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the

Passerida Passerida is, under the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy, one of two parvorders contained within the suborder Passeri (standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder). While more recent research suggests that its sister parvorder ...

(or "advanced" songbirds), within the

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

lineage.

Description

Measuring , 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 across the mountain ranges of New Guinea (in both West Papua and Papua New Guinea) from . Within the rainforest it is found singly or occasionally in pairs in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

or on the ground.

Behaviour

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 web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

s are used for binding or filling. The nest is generally placed in cover 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. The egg measures 24 by 20 mm in size.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2758882 ashy robin Birds of Western New Guinea ashy robin