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Pink Robin

Did you know?

The beautiful nest of the Pink Robin is usually decorated with pieces of moss and lichen from the shrub or tree in which it is built.

Calls
Chattering short trill 'chwit-tr-tr-tr-tr', rather wren-like.
Facts and Figures
Research Species: 
No
Minimum Size: 
12cm
Maximum Size: 
13cm
Average size: 
12cm
Average weight: 
10g
Breeding season: 
September to March
Clutch Size: 
3 to 4
Incubation: 
16 days
Conservation Status
Federal: 
Secure
NSW: 
Vulnerable
NT: 
Not present
QLD: 
Not present
SA: 
Secure
TAS: 
Secure
VIC: 
Secure
WA: 
Not present
Basic Information
Scientific Name: 
Petroica rodinogaster
Featured bird groups: 
Small insect-eating birds
Atlas Number: 
383
What does it look like?
Description: 

The Pink Robin is a small tubby bird, and is easily over-looked, being quieter than other robins. Males are brownish-black above, with a black throat and head. There is a small white spot above the bill, which is a buff spot on the female. Males have a diagnostic pink wash on the breast which extends right down under the belly. Females are a warm olive-brown above, with cinnamon buff underparts with a pinkish tint. Females and young birds have diagnostic buff wing patches. This species has a plain dark tail, lacking the white edges of other Petroicarobins.

Similar species: 

The Rose Robin, P. rosea, is similar, but the male is not as black, and the pink is only on the breast (it extends further down the abdomen in the Pink Robin). The female and young Pink Robins are a warmer brown (rather than grey) and have diagnostic rich buff double wing bars. The Pink Robin also has no white in its dark tail.

Where does it live?
Distribution: 

Pink Robins are endemic to (only found in) south-eastern Australia.

Habitat: 

In the breeding season (September to March) Pink Robins are seen singly or in pairs in deep gullies in dense shrub layers of damp and wet forests or rainforests. In winter, they are found in more open and drier habitats.

Seasonal movements: 

Pink Robins are thought to be partly resident and partly dispersive. They breed throughout Tasmania, King and Flinders Islands and the wetter parts of Victoria and far south eastern New South Wales. Some are thought to move after breeding to drier areas in southern New South Wales, or even to move from Tasmania. This movement is mainly made by the brown-plumaged young birds. Males in Tasmania may remain near or in their breeding range. Birds are more obvious in the winter, when they have moved to more open country. More about their movements is being revealed by Atlas counts and banding.

What does it do?
Feeding: 

The Pink Robin is an active feeder, darting out from a perch to snatch at insects, then returning to another perch. It usually takes prey on the ground or from low bushes.

Breeding: 

Pink Robins breed in moist rainforest and may nest twice each season. The nest is a deep cup of green moss, bound with spiders web, lined with fine soft grass, fern or fur. The nest is placed in a mossy or lichen-covered fork of a tree or shrub. The female incubates and broods the young while she is fed by the male.

Living with us

Breeding habitat for Pink Robins has been reduced by clear-felling of rainforest, affecting the species' overall breeding success. This species is listed as vulnerable in New South Wales.

References: 
Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs.
Field guide to Australian Birds.
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes.
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