Flame robin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Flame robin |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Petroica
|
| Species: |
phoenicea
|
 |
|
The flame robin (Petroica phoenicea) is a small passerine bird that lives in Australia. It is quite common in the cooler parts of southeastern Australia, including Tasmania. People often call it the robin redbreast, just like two other red-breasted robins: the scarlet robin and the red-capped robin.
These birds are special because the males and females look very different, which is called sexual dimorphism. The flame robin is about 12 to 14 centimeters (5 inches) long. It has dark brown eyes and a small, thin black beak.
Male flame robins are very striking. They have a bright orange-red chest and throat. They also have a white patch on their forehead, right above their beak. Their upper parts are a dark grey, with white stripes on their wings. Their tail is black with white tips.
Female flame robins are much plainer. They are mostly a muted grey-brown color. The flame robin's song is known as the most musical among its group of birds. These robins mainly eat insects. They usually hunt by swooping down on their prey from a tree branch or by looking for food on the ground.
Flame robins are territorial birds. They use their songs and bright feathers to show and protect their space. Sadly, the number of flame robins has gone down a lot in the last 25 years. Because of this, BirdLife International has listed them as Near Threatened.
Contents
Understanding the Flame Robin
What's in a Name?
The flame robin was first described in 1830 by French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard. They called it Muscicapa chrysoptera. The name chrysoptera comes from Ancient Greek words meaning 'golden feather'.
Later, in 1837, John Gould gave the flame robin its current scientific name, Petroica phoenicea. This name is still used today. The name Petroica comes from Ancient Greek words meaning 'rock' and 'home'. This is because these birds often sit on rocks. The word phoenicea also comes from Ancient Greek and means 'crimson' or 'dark red'.
The flame robin is one of five species with red or pink chests. People often call them "red robins." Even though they are called robins, they are not closely related to the European robin or the American robin. Australian robins belong to their own family called Petroicidae.
Scientists have studied the birds' DNA to understand their family tree. Modern research shows that Australian robins are an early branch of the "advanced" songbirds. This means they are a unique group of birds.
There are no different types (subspecies) of flame robins. Birds from the mainland and Tasmania might look slightly different, but these differences are small. Some birds also migrate between Tasmania and the mainland, which makes it harder to tell if there are distinct groups.
The common name for this bird used to be "flame-breasted robin." Over time, it was shortened to flame robin. Other old names include bank robin and redhead. "Flame robin" is now the official name used by bird experts.
How to Spot a Flame Robin
The flame robin is the biggest of the red robins. It is about 12 to 14 centimeters (5 inches) long. It looks a bit slimmer than other birds in its group. It has long wings and neck, and a small head.
Male Flame Robins
The male flame robin is easy to spot. It has bright orange-red feathers on its throat, chest, and belly. Its head, neck, and back are dark grey. There's a small white spot on its forehead, right above its beak. Its wings have white stripes, and the outer tail feathers are white.
Female Flame Robins
Female flame robins are plainer. They are mostly pale brown. Their belly is a lighter, off-white color. Sometimes, they might have a dull orange hint on their head or chest feathers. They also have small, off-white marks on their wings and above their beak.
Both male and female flame robins have black beaks, legs, feet, and claws. Their eyes are dark brown.
Young Flame Robins
Baby flame robins have dark grey or brown fuzzy feathers. Their beaks are cream-colored. Young birds look a lot like the adult female. However, their head and upper parts are streaky and a bit darker. As male juveniles grow, they might start to get some orange feathers on their chests.
Telling Them Apart
It can be tricky to tell flame robins apart from other red robins. Some scarlet robins can look orange. But male scarlet and red-capped robins have black throats, while the flame robin's orange-red color goes all the way up to its beak. The flame robin is also a bit slimmer and has a smaller head than the scarlet robin. It is clearly bigger than the red-capped robin.
Female robins are even harder to tell apart. Female red-capped, rose, and pink robins are all smaller than the flame robin. Female scarlet robins have a stronger red blush on their chest. Their white spot on the forehead is also bigger and brighter white.
Flame Robin Calls
Flame robins have both loud and quiet calls. Their loud songs can be heard from about 150 meters (500 feet) away. Their quieter calls are shorter and can be heard from about 30 meters (100 feet) away. Males sing most often in spring, summer, and autumn. They sing less in winter, but still do so to protect their territory.
Their song is more complex than the scarlet robin's. Many people describe it as the most musical of the red robins. It sounds like a series of notes going down, in groups of three. Both males and females sing this song, often from a high spot like a tree stump or fence. This loud song helps males attract a mate. It also tells their mate or young that food is coming.
The softer call sounds like a "tlip" or "pip." This is used to keep in touch near the nest. Females make a hissing sound if someone gets too close to the nest. Males sometimes make a wheezing sound when they are showing off around the nest.
Where Flame Robins Live and What They Like
The flame robin lives in the mild parts of southeastern Australia and all over Tasmania. It is less common in the southwest and west of Tasmania. In Victoria, it is more common in the higher areas.
These birds are usually migratory. This means they move from high, cold areas to lower, warmer areas in winter. Some male birds might migrate a few days before the females. It's not clear how many Tasmanian birds fly across the Bass Strait to spend winter in Victoria. Birds that stay in Tasmania move away from their breeding areas. They can be seen in open fields in groups of up to fourteen birds.
In spring and summer, flame robins prefer wet eucalypt forests in hilly or mountainous areas. They like places with more clearings and less dense plants on the ground. They especially like tall forests with trees like snow gum and mountain ash. Sometimes, they are found in temperate rainforests.
In autumn and winter, the birds move to more open areas. These include grasslands and open woodlands. They prefer areas with trees like river red gum and yellow box. These areas are usually at lower altitudes.
Flame robins often become more common in areas that have recently had bushfires. But they move away once the plants on the ground grow back thick. They might also move into forests that have been logged or cleared. However, they don't like areas where the new plant growth is very dense.
Flame Robin Habits
The flame robin mostly breeds in the Great Dividing Range, the Tasmanian highlands, and islands in Bass Strait. When autumn brings cooler weather, most birds fly to lower, warmer places. Some travel as far as eastern South Australia or southern Queensland. Some Tasmanian birds even fly across Bass Strait to Victoria.
Birds that breed in warmer areas north of the Blue Mountains in New South Wales tend to stay in their mountain homes all year. Outside the breeding season, birds might gather in small groups. But usually, you will see them alone or in pairs. Pairs are more common during the breeding season.
When a flame robin is resting or waiting to hunt, it stands very upright. Its body is angled at about 45 degrees or less. Its wings are held low, below its tail. It often looks a bit nervous, flicking its wings one at a time when it's still. The flame robin's flight is fast and has a wavy pattern.
The flame robin is a territorial bird. It protects its space from other flame robins and even from scarlet robins if they are in the same area. They use different ways to show they are protecting their territory. They might puff up their chest feathers to show off their bright color. They might also puff up their feathers to make their white forehead spot, wing markings, or outer tail feathers stand out. They might also fly at birds that come too close or sing to defend their territory.
Courtship and Raising Young
Male flame robins have been seen feeding females during courtship. This is a way they show they are interested in mating.
The breeding season for flame robins is from August to January. They usually raise one or two groups of chicks. The male bird shows the female different places that might be good for a nest. He does this by hopping around the area. Sometimes, the female is the one who starts looking for a nest site. A pair might spend one to five days searching before they find the perfect spot.
The female builds the nest all by herself. They usually choose eucalypt trees. But they have also been seen nesting in pine trees. Flame robins are quite flexible about where they build their nests. They have even been known to nest inside sheds!
The nest is a neat, deep cup. It is made from soft dry grass, moss, and bark. They use spider webs, feathers, and fur to hold the nest together. Nests are usually built in a tree fork, a crack in a tree, or on a ledge of a cliff or riverbank. They are typically only a few meters (feet) off the ground.
A female flame robin usually lays three or four dull white eggs. The eggs are laid on different days, one after another. They might have a bluish, grayish, or brownish tint. They also have dark grey-brown spots. Each egg is about 18 mm by 14 mm (0.7 by 0.5 inches).
The mother bird sits on the eggs to keep them warm. This is called incubation. It usually lasts about 17 days. When the chicks hatch, they are born blind and without feathers. This is called being altricial. They start to grow soft, fuzzy feathers on their heads on the second day. Their eyes open around day six. They start to grow their main flight feathers around day nine or ten.
For the first three days after hatching, only the mother feeds the baby birds. The father brings food to her, and she feeds the chicks. From the fourth day onwards, the father also feeds the chicks directly. The mother keeps the chicks warm until day seven. The parents feed the young birds mostly flies, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, and beetles. Both parents help by removing the chicks' waste from the nest. Parents have been seen feeding their young for up to five weeks after they leave the nest.
Some other birds, like the fan-tailed cuckoo and the pallid cuckoo, are brood parasites of the flame robin. This means the female cuckoos lay their eggs in the robin's nest. The robins then raise the cuckoo chicks as their own. One fan-tailed cuckoo was even seen pushing baby robins out of the nest before being raised by its foster parents. Other animals that might eat robin eggs or chicks include the grey shrikethrush, the pied currawong, and the eastern brown snake.
What Flame Robins Eat
Like all Australasian robins, the flame robin is a "perch and pounce" hunter. This means it mostly eats insects. It often returns to a favorite low branch. From there, it stands still and watches the ground for prey.
During spring and summer, when they are breeding, you usually see them in pairs. In winter, they are found in more open areas. They often feed on the ground in loose groups. There is no big difference in how male and female flame robins hunt for food. They have been seen looking for insects in freshly plowed fields. One flame robin was even seen tapping the ground with its foot to make insects come out. This is a behavior usually seen in wader birds.
Flame robins eat more flying insects than scarlet robins do. Some scientists think that because there are fewer flying insects in winter, this is why flame robins migrate. They have also been seen feeding with other small insect-eating birds. These include scarlet robins, hooded robins, white-fronted chats, and Australasian pipits.
Their diet includes many types of insects. These are beetles, wasps, ants, flies, and caterpillars. They also eat other small creatures like spiders, millipedes, and earthworms. Flame robins swallow small prey whole. If a victim is larger, they will hit it against a hard surface many times to break it up before eating it.
Images for kids
-
Male Flame Robin
-
Flame Robin distribution map
-
Flame Robin perched on a branch
See also
In Spanish: Petroica flamígera para niños
