Kingdom Animalia Order Passeriformes Genus Poecilodryas Higher classification Plesiodryas | Phylum Chordata Family Petroicidae Scientific name Poecilodryas albonotata Rank Species | |
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Similar Torrent flyrobin, Canary flyrobin, Banded yellow robin, White‑eyed robin, Slaty robin | ||
The black-throated robin (Poecilodryas albonotata) is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is found on the island of New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests at 1,150–2,750 metres above sea-level.
Described by Gregory Mathews in 1920, the black-throated robin is a member of the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. Its genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words poikilos "little" and dryas "dryad", and the species name albonotata is derived from the Latin words albus "white" and notata "marked". 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. 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.
Description
Measuring 18 to 19 cm (7.1 to 7.5 in), the black-throated robin has a grey-black face, throat and upper breast with a grey crown and nape, and a white diagonal mark on the neck. The upperparts are blue-grey, and the underparts grey to white over the abdomen and under the tail coverts. The bill and legs are black, and the eyes are dark brown. The plumage is reminiscent of a cuckoo-shrike but the white neck marking is diagnostic.
The black-throated robin is found predominantly in rainforests along the central highlands of New Guinea, from the Bird's Head Peninsula in the west to the Huon Peninsula in the east, at altitudes from 1,800 to 2,750 m (5,900 to 9,000 ft). Within the rainforest, it is found singly in the understory or on the ground. It is insectivorous, and hunts by gleaning.