Today we’re going to look at one of Australia’s favourite birds, the Flame Robin (Petrocia phoenicea). Hey, hang on here. European Robin, American Robin, Flame Robin? What’s going on; who are all these Robins and are any of them related?
No, of course not, because there is no consistency in avian nomenclature. It’s all madness, madness I tell you!
No, the Flame Robin belongs to its own family, the Australasian Robins. But unlike the American Robin (which is really a Thrush) and the European Robin (which is really an Old World Flycatcher), at least all the Robins in Australia actually belong to a Robin family. So maybe they’re the truest, most pure of all the Robins … even though they’re named after the European bird …? You know what, just don’t think about it.
But like the other Robins we’ve met, they possess a bright (some people might call it flame red) breast. This is a feature of the males, which they use to guard their territories. They puff up their flame red feathers in a show of mighty prowess to ward other Robins away. It’s an adorable display, but to a bird it must be truly fearsome.
The Flame Robin favours the high mountains of the Great Dividing Range, where they nest and raise their young. The male does the important job of selecting the nesting site, and then the female takes care of the more minor task of building the nest by herself. Once the chicks hatch they share feeding duties.
These little guys are classified as Near Threatened, so seeing one is always a special treat. If you’re not afraid of hiking up a mountain or two, they can be found atop the odd peak in the Canberra region, where you might see them seeking insects, sallying back and forth from their favourite hunting perch.
20/02/2022
Bird of the Week 