Black-chinned robin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black-chinned robin |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Poecilodryas
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| Species: |
brachyura
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| Synonyms | |
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Leucophantes brachyurus protonym |
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The black-chinned robin (Poecilodryas brachyura) is a small, interesting bird. It belongs to the Petroicidae family, which are often called Australasian robins. You can find this bird living in the northern parts of New Guinea. It loves to live in warm, wet lowland forests.
Meet the Black-Chinned Robin
This special robin was first described by an English scientist named Philip Sclater in 1874. Even though it's called a "robin," it's part of a group of birds mostly found in Australia and nearby islands. Scientists have studied its DNA to understand how it's related to other birds. They found that these robins are an ancient branch of the "advanced" songbird family.
What Does It Look Like?
The black-chinned robin is a small bird, about 14 to 15 centimeters (5.5 to 6 inches) long. That's about the size of your hand!
- It has a dark brown or black head and back.
- A bright white stripe, like an "eyebrow," sits above its eye.
- Right under its beak, its chin is black. This is how it gets its name!
- Its tail is shorter than many other robins.
- The throat and belly are white.
- It has a white bar on its dark wings.
- Its beak is black, its eyes are dark brown, and its legs are light brown or pink.
- When it sings, it makes a series of notes that go down in pitch. It sounds a bit like the fan-tailed cuckoo.
Where Does It Live?
The black-chinned robin mostly lives in the lowland rainforests of northwestern and central New Guinea. This area is mainly in West Papua, with a small part in Papua New Guinea. It can be found from sea level up to about 650 meters (2000 feet) high.
Inside the rainforest, these robins usually live in pairs. They spend their time in the lower parts of the forest, like the understory, or even on the ground. They love to eat insects! They hunt by picking insects off leaves or the ground. They are not very strong flyers, so they mostly stay close to the ground.
