Western Yellow Robin
A species of Yellow Robins and Allies Scientific name : Eopsaltria griseogularis Genus : Yellow Robins and Allies
Western Yellow Robin, A species of Yellow Robins and Allies
Botanical name: Eopsaltria griseogularis
Genus: Yellow Robins and Allies
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Don Roberson 
Description
The western yellow robin ranges between 13.5 and 15.5 cm (5 ⁄4 and 6 in) long, with a wingspan of 24–27.5 cm (9 ⁄2–10 ⁄4 in) and weight of 20 g (0.7 oz). The male and female are similar in size and coloration, with no seasonal variation in plumage. The head, neck, and upper parts are grey, with a white throat fading into a grey breast. The lores are black, the eyebrows are paler grey, and there is some faint pale streaking over the ear coverts. The underparts are yellow and clearly delineated from the breast. The rump and upper tail coverts are yellow in the nominate subspecies and olive-green in subspecies rosinae. There is a broad area of intermediate coloration between the core ranges of the two subspecies. Birds of subspecies rosinae have longer wings and tail overall, and a shorter bill and tarsus. Those from the west coast between Cliff Head and Kalbarri are significantly smaller overall. Intermediate forms between the two subspecies are found over a broad band between Lancelin and Jurien Bay southeast through the inner Wheatbelt to the coast between Denmark and Fitzgerald River National Park. Juveniles have dark brownish head, neck, and upper parts coarsely streaked with creamy white. The lores are black. The chin and throat are grey-white, the breast is cream and brown, and the belly is white or off-white, tinged with brown. They molt after a few months into immature plumage, resembling adults but retaining some brownish flight feathers and secondary coverts on their wings and tail. The western yellow robin produces its song with sequences of extended whistles, begun with two briefly piped notes. Its song is often heard before dawn, described as having a mournful quality, and is a familiar sound in southwest forests and woodlands. It also utters a scolding call, transcribed as ch-churr or churr-churr, and a two-syllabled zitting call. Around nesting time, the female utters a courtship or food-begging call, composed of a long note with a deeper staccato note at the end. It does not resemble any other species within its range. The similar eastern yellow robin is found only in the eastern states. Immature birds closely resemble immature white-breasted robins (Quoyornis georgianus), though both are usually close by their respective parents. Young western yellow robins also have an olive tinge to the edges of their flight and tail feathers, and gain yellow feathers on their bellies as they molt from juvenile plumage. 
Size
16 cm
Feeding Habits
Western Yellow Robin primarily consumes arthropods, especially insects, occasionally eating seeds. It typically hunts from tree branches, diving to catch prey on the ground, often near fallen logs. Western Yellow Robin exhibits more foraging activity in moist leaf litter during warmer months and shows a distinctive foraging pattern similar to European robins.
Habitat
The habitat of western Yellow Robin comprises primarily open eucalypt (Eucalyptus) forests and woodlands, as well as mallee and various other types of lightly timbered scrub that feature moderately dense understory. These environments support the general environmental needs of western Yellow Robin, providing them with essential resources for foraging and nesting.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Behavior
The social behaviour of the western yellow robin has been little studied. The species is usually found alone or in pairs, and less commonly in small groups—most likely a mated pair and helper birds. In autumn and winter, western yellow robins may join mixed hunting flocks with other insect-eating birds, such as Gilbert's honeyeater (Melithreptus chloropsis), western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus), grey fantail (Rhipidura albiscapa), and thornbills (Acanthiza species).
Distribution Area
In Western Australia, the western yellow robin is found south and west of an imaginary line between Kalbarri and Norseman, though it is largely absent from the coastal plain between Dongara and Rockingham. It is a rare vagrant north to Shark Bay and Toolonga Nature Reserve. Along the southern coastline, it occurs in a broken distribution to the South Australian border, at Eucla, Hampton Tableland, and the Roe Plains. In South Australia, it is found from Yalata east to the Eyre Peninsula where it extends north to the Gawler Ranges and east to Middleback Range. It is sedentary across its range. The nominate Eopsaltria griseogularis griseogularis ranges along the coastal southwest Western Australia from Lancelin in the north and inland to Northam and southeast to King George Sound. Subspecies Eopsaltria griseogularis rosinae occurs from Jurien Bay and Tamala then inland across the Wheatbelt and Goldfields to the southeastern Western Australian coastline, across the Great Australian Bight and on the Eyre Peninsula. Within its range, the western yellow robin is found in eucalypt forest and woodland, and mallee and acacia-shrubland in drier (semi-arid) regions. Fieldwork in the Dryandra Woodland found that it prefers locations with thicker canopy, a thicker layer of leaf litter, and logs. The latter two directly provide habitat for insects upon which the western yellow robin feeds, while the canopy makes for cooler ground temperatures (as well as more leaf litter) that are also favorable to insects. The presence of wandoo trees (Eucalyptus wandoo) and shrubs of the genus Gastrolobium also indicates thicker leaf litter. The species also avoids parts of the woodland bordering on adjacent farmland, as these areas have a thinner layer of leaf litter. In tall jarrah-marri forest, it generally remains in the midstory of bull banksia (Banksia grandis) or understory shrubs.
Species Status
The IUCN Red List assessed the western yellow robin in 2016 as a least-concern species, noting a large distribution range and population that, while declining, did not meet their criteria for conservation status of vulnerable to extinction. Recognized threat factors to the population trajectory of the western yellow robin are global warming, particularly severe weather events, and anthropogenic alterations that degrade or remove its habitat. The species has declined in parts of the Wheatbelt, particularly around the towns of Kellerberin, Dowerin and Tammin, most likely due to a loss of suitable habitat. Up to 93% of suitable habitat had been cleared in the region by 2002, and much of what is left is compromised; fragmentation of habitat and livestock activity disrupt the litter layer, and Gastrolobium is often removed as it is poisonous to cattle.
Photo By Don Roberson 
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Australasian robins Genus
Yellow Robins and Allies Species
Western Yellow Robin 
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