The mangrove robin (''Peneothello pulverulenta'') is a passerine bird 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 ...

. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea, and northern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The bird's common name refers to its natural habitat. They live in

mangrove forests A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

and seldom fly outside these biomes.

Taxonomy

The mangrove robin was described by the French naturalist

Charles Lucien Bonaparte Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857), was a French naturalist and ornithologist. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal Lucien Bonaparte. Life and career ...

in 1850 from a specimen collected in New Guinea. He coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Myiolestes pulverulentus''. The species was subsequently moved to the genus ''Peneoenanthe'' by the Australian ornithologist Gregory Mathews. It is now placed in the genus ''

Peneothello ''Peneothello'' is a genus of passerine birds in the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. The genus ''Peneothello'' was introduced by the Australian born ornithologist Gregory Mathews in 1920 with white-winged robin (''Peneothello sigillata'' ...

'', based on the results of a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

study of the family

, published in 2011. There are four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

. * ''P. p. pulverulenta'' ( Bonaparte, 1850) – coastal New Guinea * ''P. p. leucura'' (

Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...

, 1869) – Aru Islands (south west of New Guinea), northeast coast of Australia * ''P. p. alligator'' ( Mathews, 1912) – coastal northern Australia and nearby islands * ''P. p. cinereiceps'' (

Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in Hamburg, Germany on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrator Claudia Bernadine E ...

, 1905) – northwest coast of Australia

Description

The mangrove robin has an average weight of for males and for females. Their wingspan differs between subspecies – the ''leucura'' subspecies have spans of to for males and to for females, while the ''alligator'' subspecies have spans of to for males and to for females. For ''cinereiceps'', male birds have wingspans of to long; on the other hand, female wingspans are to long. They feature a "dull pale bar" at the bottom of their

remiges Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the tail ...

, although this is not very noticeable. In order to facilitate their navigation through thick mangrove forests, mangrove robins have developed wings and tails that are rounded.

Distribution and habitat

The bird is found in the Northern Australia region and the island of New Guinea, within the countries of

, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. Their preferred habitat are tropical and subtropical

located above the level of high tide. They seldom travel outside their habitat. The mangrove robin has been placed in the least Concern category of the IUCN Red List, as the population has remained stable throughout the last ten years. The size of its distribution range is over .

Behaviour

The call of the mangrove robin has been described as a "down-slurred whistle". It eats insects in the mud when the tide falls. While these may be its primary prey, the mangrove robin also consumes a significant amount of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

in its diet.

References

External links

Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the mangrove robin
{{Taxonbar, from=Q692554

mangrove robin The mangrove robin (''Peneothello pulverulenta'') is a passerine bird in the family Petroicidae. It is found in the Aru Islands, New Guinea, and northern Australia. The bird's common name refers to its natural habitat. They live in mangrove f ...

Birds of the Aru Islands Birds of Western Australia Birds of the Northern Territory Birds of Queensland

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN