Southern scrub robin
| Southern scrub robin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Petroicidae |
| Genus: | Drymodes |
| Species: | D. brunneopygia |
| Binomial name | |
| Drymodes brunneopygia Gould, 1840 | |
The southern scrub robin (Drymodes brunneopygia) is a species of bird in the Petroicidae family. It is endemic to Australia, where it occurs in mallee and heathland in the semi-arid southern parts of the continent, extending from the Little Desert in the east though South Australia to the west coast between Kalbarri and the Pinnacles.
It is a relatively dull and large robin, adults being around 22 centimetres (9 in) in length, of which around a third is the tail feathers. Most of the plumage is grey, except for a dullish red tail and patterned black-and-white wings. The legs are unusually long for a passerine, and are frequently used to hop through the dense heathland that forms the bird's habitat, where it searches for insects and other small invertebrates.
Unusually for a passerine, the southern scrub robin lays only a single egg, which is grey-green in colour for camouflage amongst the sclerophyllous flora that forms its habitat. This egg is laid every year between July and December[2] and hatches after sixteen days in a nest of twigs on the ground.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Drymodes brunneopygia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Australian Robins: Petroicidae: Southern Scrub-Robin