Banded Yellow Robin
Eopsaltria placens
A medium-sized, localized bird of foothill forest. Orange legs, gray head and wings, olive back and chest band, bright yellow belly and incomplete collar from the lower throat around to the sides of the neck. Perches low down, motionlessly scanning the forest floor. Distinctive, but somewhat similar to Green-backed and White-faced Robins which both have white on the face. Song, a series of whistled notes “pwip! pyuu-pyuu-pyuu-pyuu-pyuu”. The first note rising followed by a gap, the followed by identical notes.
Taxonomy
The banded yellow robin was described by the Australian zoologist, Edward Pierson Ramsay, in 1879, from a specimen collected in southeastern New Guinea. He coined the binomial name Eopsaltria placens. The species was subsequently placed in the genus Poecilodryas. It was moved to the resurrected genus Gennaeodryas, based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2011. The genus Gennaeodryas had been introduced by the Australian ornithologist, Gregory Mathews, in 1920. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek gennaios 'noble' or 'high-born' with dryad 'tree-nymph'. The specific epithet placens is the Latin word for 'charming' or 'pleasing'.
- Scientific name
- Eopsaltria placens
- Authority
- (Ramsay, EP, 1879)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Petroicidae
- Genus
- Eopsaltria
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Bare-crowned Antbird
Gymnocichla nudiceps
Scarce and rather shy antbird of evergreen forest, second growth thickets, and overgrown plantations in humid tropical lowlands. Usually in pairs, on or near the ground, where often accompanies army ant swarms to capture prey flushed by the ants. Male is black with white wingbars with bright blue naked skin on crown and around eyes. Female is rusty brown overall with bright blue naked eyering.
Kittlitz's Murrelet
Brachyramphus brevirostris
Small, oblong-shaped seabird. Breeding plumage mottled brown; darkness varies, but often shows golden tint. Nonbreeding plumage dark gray above and white below, with a white face and large white wing patch. Nests in crevices in rocky scree slopes, particularly around glaciers; forages in coastal glacial outflows. Similar to Marbled and Long-billed Murrelets, but with shorter bill and white outer tail feathers; breeding birds average paler with speckled back, while nonbreeders show white on face extending above the eye.
Baudin's Black-Cockatoo
Zanda baudinii
Black cockatoo with white ear patch and white tail panel. Inhabits moist eucalypt forest in the southwestern corner of Western Australia, where it eats seeds from large seed pods of Marri and Karri trees. Unlikely to be observed out on the coastal sand plains of Perth. Very similar to Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo but with much longer, pointed upper mandible. Calls include mournful wailing cries that are more clipped than those of Carnaby’s.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.