Petroica

Petroica
North Island robin (Petroica longipes)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Infraorder: Passerides
Family: Petroicidae
Genus: Petroica
Swainson, 1829
Type species
Muscicapa multicolor[1]
Gmelin, 1789
Species

14; see text

Petroica is a genus of Australasian robins, named for their red and pink markings. They are not closely related to the European robins nor the American robins.

The genus was introduced by the English naturalist, William John Swainson, in 1829, with the Norfolk robin (Petroica multicolor) as the type species.[2][3] The generic name combines the Ancient Greek petro- "rock" with oikos "home".[4]

Many species in Australia have a red breast and are known colloquially as "red robins" as distinct from the "yellow robins" of the genus Eopsaltria.[5]

  1. ^ "Pectroicidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. ^ Swainson, William John (1829). Zoological illustrations, or, Original figures and descriptions of new, rare, or interesting animals. Series 2. Vol. 1. London: Baldwin, Cradock. Plate 36 text.
  3. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1986). Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. 11. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 562.
  4. ^ Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Petroica". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive: Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  5. ^ Dowling DK (2003). "Breeding biology of the red-capped robin". Australian Journal of Zoology. 51 (6). CSIRO Publishing: 533–549. doi:10.1071/ZO03028. Retrieved 2007-06-07.