Fun Western Yellow Robin Facts For Kids

Western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) is an Australian native bird species of the Australasia robins, the Petroicidae family. In 1838, John Gould described this species. Although this species and its relatives are not close relatives of American or European robins, they look like an early by-product of the songbird group, Passeridae. E. g. rosinae, consisting of an olive-green rump, and E. g. griseogularis with a yellow rump are two subspecies of this robin. The range of distribution of this species is across South West Austalia.

Eopsaltria griseogularis (Gould, 1838) is classified within the Eopsaltria genus, which was introduced by William Swainson, an English naturalist six years earlier for Eopsaltria australis or eastern yellow robin. Two Medieval Latin words were used for the specific term, 'grisues' means 'gray' and 'gula' means 'throat'. The birds of the Eopsaltria genus are called yellow robins in Australia. This genus has only two bird species, the eastern yellow robin and the western yellow robin. The Petroicidae family consists of 19 genera with 49 species.

What type of animal is a western yellow robin?

Western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) is a yellow robin species of the order Passeriformes and Phylum Chordata. There is only a little information about the social behavior of this bird. The bird mostly finds and grabs its prey from the ground. It built its nest high up in a tree.

What class of animal does a western yellow robin belong to?

Western yellow robin (Eopsaltria griseogularis) belongs to the Aves class of birds.

How many western yellow robins are there in the world?

The exact population of this Australian bird is not known. Although common in its natural habitat range, its population is currently decreasing.

Where do western yellow robins live?

Eopsaltria griseogularis (Gould, 1838) has a wide range of habitats across Australia. In Western Australia, the bird's range is across west and south of the imaginary line existing between Norseman and Kalbarri. The bird rarely travels to the Toolonga Nature Reserve and Shark Bay. It has a broken range of distribution across the border of South Australia, at the Roe Plains and Eucla. It occurs between Yalata and the Eyre Peninsula, spreading across Gawler Ranges and Middleback Range.

Griseogularis, the nominate bird, is found in southwest Western Australia, extending the inland and north in Lancelin across Northam to King George Sound in the southeast. Rosinae is found across Tamala and Jurien Bay across Goldfields and Wheatbelt through the coastline of Western Australia, on the Eyre Peninsula, and throughout the Great Australian Bight.

What is a western yellow robin's habitat?

The habitat of Eopsaltria griseogularis (Gould, 1838) includes semi-arid areas in acacia shrubland, mallee, woodlands, and eucalypt forests. Fieldwork showed that the bird prefers regions with logs, thick canopy, and thick layers of leaf litter. These are favorable habitats for insects and also provide a cool ground temperature.

Who do western yellow robins live with?

They are in pairs during breeding seasons and solitary other times of the year. It is very rare for them to form small groups. These may join other insect-eating birds in a mixed flock, which includes thornbills, gray fantail, western spinebill, and Gilbert's honeyeater.

How long does a western yellow robin live?

These birds live around eight to nine years in the wild.

How do they reproduce?

Breeding is common from September to November, however, the breeding season extends from July to early January. Per breeding season, pairs usually attempt to produce two broods. The female selects the nest site. The nest is usually placed on a tree branch or in the fork in eucalypt, like sugar gum, wandoo, jarrah, and marri. The nest is covered in foliage, usually in the lower part of the tree canopy, for the robins to get a clear ground view.

The nest is made of twigs, grass, and tree barks, lining or binding is made of gum leaves, dried wattle, and spider webs. As the female builds the nest, she is fed by helper birds and males. The incubation period is around 15 days. Female produces two to three pearl-gray or pale yellow eggs with reddish-brown marks. Compared to eastern yellow robin's eggs, these eggs are a lot more elongated. The chicks are born naked and blind. Helper and parent birds feed the chicks and females are also able to forage for themselves during this time of the breeding season.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of a Western yellow robin eopsaltria griseogularis is Least Concern. Threats to these birds are habitat removal or degradation, severe weather conditions, and global warming.

What do Western Yellow Robins look like?

There is no seasonal change in the plumage of these birds and males and females have no difference. They have gray upper parts, neck, and head, with a gray breast and white throat. They have pale streaks on their ear verts, pale gray eyebrows, and black lores. The yellow underparts are clearly defined by their breast. They have yellow or olive-green upper tail coverts and rump.

E. g. rosinae birds have shorter tarsus and bills with longer tails and wings. The dark brown upper parts, neck, and head of juveniles have creamy-white streaks, black lores, off-white belly, brown and cram breast, and gray-white throat and chin. Molting in juveniles occurs after a few months. As the Eastern yellow robins occur only in eastern states, these birds do not resemble any other birds in their range.

How cute are they?

For their small size, many people consider the western yellow robin to be cute bird species.

How do they communicate?

These birds communicate through call, body language, and chemical release. During the breeding season in the nesting period, females produce food-begging or courtship call. They produce a sitting call and a scolding call. They sing often before dawn. They also have an extended whistle.

How big is a western yellow robin?

The head to tail length of these birds is 5.25-6 in (13.5-15.5 cm) with a wingspan of 9.5-10.7 in (24-27.5 cm).

How fast can a western yellow robin fly?

The exact flight speed of the western yellow robin is not known.

How much do western yellow robins weigh?

These birds weigh only about 0.04 lb (20 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male and female wester yellow robins.

What would you call a baby western yellow robin?

A baby robin is usually referred to as a chick.

What do they eat?

These birds scan for prey on the ground from tree trunks or branches. They feed on Anthropods and seeds.

Are they dangerous?

No, these birds are not dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

These birds do very well around forests in tall trees.

Did you know...

Some predators of the nestlings of this species are gray shrike thrush and common brushtail possum.

How many types of robins are there?

There are six types of ribins in the world.

Are western yellow robins native to Australia?

Yes, western yellow robins, just like eastern yellow robins, are native birds of Australia.

*We've been unable to source an image of a Western Yellow Robin and have used an image of an Eastern Yellow Robin. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Pilotbird, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected].