The hooded robin (''Melanodryas cucullata'') is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the

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 ...

, it is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

; the male bears a distinctive black-and-white plumage, while the female is a nondescript grey-brown.

Taxonomy

Like all Australian robins, it is not closely related to either the

European robin The European robin (''Erithacus rubecula''), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in Great Britain & Ireland, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that belongs to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family. About in len ...

or the American robin, but belongs rather to the

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 rese ...

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, and

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 Gui ...

, as well as

crow A crow is a bird of the genus '' Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

s. Initially thought to be related to

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, Bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica)'' and Northe ...

s, it was described as ''Muscicapa cucullata'' by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. Later described as ''Grallina bicolor'' by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the East India Company ...

, it was later placed in the genus '' Petroica'' for many years before being transferred to '' Melanodryas''. The generic name ''melanodryas'' derives from the Greek ''melas'' 'black' and ''dryas'' 'wood-nymph'. The specific name ''cucullata'' derives from Late Latin ''cucullatus'' meaning 'hooded'.

Description

The hooded robin is around 16 cm (6 in) in length. The male has a distinctive pied coloration; with a black head and neck ("hood"), white chest and underparts, and black wings with white wing bars. The eyes, bill, and feet are also black. The female is an undistinguished grey-brown above, with a pale grey throat and paler underneath, and dark brown wings and white wing bars. Juveniles are similar to females.

Distribution

It is found across the Australian continent, though not in Cape York nor

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

; its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.

Breeding

Breeding season is July to November with one or two broods raised. The nest is a neat cup made of soft, dry grass and bark.

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. Spi ...

s, feathers, and fur are used for binding/filling, generally in a tree crevice, hollow or fork. The clutch generally consists of two pale olive- or bluish-green eggs, with darker spots and blotches, measuring .

Conservation status

Hooded robins are not listed as threatened on the Australian

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example: * The hooded robin is listed as threatened on the Victorian

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

. Under this Act, an ''Action Statement'' for the recovery and future management of this species has not yet been prepared.Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria
* On the 2013 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the hooded robin is listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1585970 hooded robin hooded robin Endemic birds of Australia hooded robin Taxa named by John Latham (ornithologist) Taxonomy articles created by Polbot