The white-rumped robin (''Peneothello bimaculata'') is a species of
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
New Guinea. Its natural
habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland
forests and subtropical or tropical moist
montane forests.
Described by Italian naturalist,
Tommaso Salvadori, in 1874, the white-rumped robin is a member of the Australasian robin 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 ...
.
[* ] 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, and
honeyeaters, as well as 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.
Within the species, two subspecies are recognised: the nominate subspecies, which is found on the southern side of the main mountain range along New Guinea, and the subspecies ''vicarius'' of the
Huon Peninsula and
Adelbert Range
Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at .
The Northern Adelbert languages and Southern Adelbert languages are spoken in the region.
Fauna and flora
As with ...
.
Description
Measuring , the white-rumped robin has black plumage with a white rump and upper tail coverts. It has white patches on the sides of its breast. The abdomen is white in the nominate subspecies, and black with some white in the subspecies ''vicarius''. The female closely resembles the male, but its black feathers have brown tinges. The bill and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
The white-rumped robin is found in the highlands of New Guinea from altitudes of . Within the rainforest it is found in pairs in the understory or on the ground. It is insectivorous.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:robin, white-rumped
white-rumped robin
white-rumped robin
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot