ashy robin
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Ashy robin
| status = LC
| image = Grey Headed Robin Qld.jpg
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Heteromyias
| species = albispecularis
| authority = (Salvadori, 1876)
| synonyms = *Poecilodryas albispecularis}}
The ashy robin (Heteromyias albispecularis), also known as the black-cheeked robin, is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae native to New Guinea.
Taxonomy
It is one of three species within the genus Heteromyias. Previously, it and the grey-headed robin from Australia were treated as one species and known as Heteromyias albispecularis. The black-capped robin (H. armiti) was formerly considered a subspecies of H. albispecularis, but more recent studies indicate it is a distinct species, and it has been split from it (the subspecies H. a. rothschildi has also been carried over to armiti).{{Cite web|title=Species Updates – IOC World Bird List|url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/updates/species-updates/|access-date=2021-05-29|language=en-US}} It has also been classified within the genus Poecilodryas.
Described by Italian naturalist, Tommaso Salvadori, in 1874, the ashy robin is a member of the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation studies placed this group in a Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens, honeyeaters, and crows.{{cite book|vauthors=Sibley CG, Ahlquist JE|title=Phylogeny and Classification of Birds: A Study in Molecular Evolution |publisher= Yale University Press|location=New Haven, CT|year=1990|pages=603, 610–27|isbn=0-300-04085-7}} However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida (or "advanced" songbirds), within the songbird lineage.{{cite journal |last1=Barker |first1=F. Keith | last2 = Cibois | first2 = Alice |last3 = Schikler | first3 = Peter A. | last4 = Feinstein | first4 = Julie | last5 = Cracraft | first5 = Joel |title=Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation |journal=PNAS |volume=101 |issue=30 |pages=11040–45 | date = 27 July 2004 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0401892101 |url=http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/0401892101v1.pdf |access-date=14 August 2008 |pmid=15263073 |pmc=503738|bibcode=2004PNAS..10111040B |doi-access=free }}
Description
Measuring {{convert|15|to|18|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the ashy robin is a large and solidly built robin. It has a sooty black head and cheeks, with a white stripe extending backwards and upwards from the eyes. It has a white throat darkening to buff underparts and olive-brown upperparts. There is a white patch on the otherwise dark-plumaged wing. The bill is grey-black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs pale pink.{{cite book | last = Coates | first = Brian J. | year = 1990 | title = The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Volume II | publisher = Dove Publications | location = Queensland | pages = 189–90 | isbn = 978-0-9590257-1-2 | oclc = 153651608}}
Distribution and habitat
The ashy robin is found across the mountain ranges of New Guinea (in both West Papua and Papua New Guinea) from {{convert|1400|to|2600|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Within the rainforest it is found singly or occasionally in pairs in the understory or on the ground.
Behaviour
=Feeding=
=Breeding=
The nest is a shallow cup made of bark, grass, twigs, and dry leaves. Spider webs are used for binding or filling. The nest is generally placed in cover {{convert|1|–|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the ground. The clutch consists of a single cream- or olive-white egg, marked with light brown or mauve splotches and spots, usually concentrated around the large end. The egg measures 24 by 20 mm in size.