Red-capped Robin
A species of Australian Red Robins and Allies Scientific name : Petroica goodenovii Genus : Australian Red Robins and Allies
Red-capped Robin, A species of Australian Red Robins and Allies
Botanical name: Petroica goodenovii
Genus: Australian Red Robins and Allies
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Description People often ask General Info
Description
The smallest of the red robins, the red-capped robin is 10.5–12.5 cm (4.1–4.9 in) long with a wingspan of 15–19.5 cm (5.9–7.7 in), and weighs around 7–9 g (0.25–0.31 oz). Males and females are of similar size. It has longer legs than the other robins of the genus Petroica. The male has a distinctive scarlet cap and breast. Its upperparts are jet-black with white shoulder bars, and its tail is black with white tips. The underparts and shoulder are white. All colours are sharply delineated from one another. The female is an undistinguished grey-brown above with a reddish tint to the crown, and paler underneath with dark brown wings and pale buff wing-patch. Some females have a reddish tint to the breast. Both sexes have a small, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs. Immature birds initially resemble the female; it is only with their second moult, which takes place at around a year of age that males adopt their distinctive adult plumage. The red-capped robin moults once a year, after the breeding season, which takes place between December and April. Two red keto-carotenoid pigments, canthaxanthin and adonirubin, are responsible for the redness in the red-capped robin's plumage. The birds are unable to synthesize these compounds themselves, and hence need to obtain them from their food. Carotenoids are costly to metabolise, and are also required for use in immune function, hence red-capped robins need to be in good condition to have enough left for use in red feathers. This makes red plumage a good advertisement to prospective mates. A 2001 field study at Terrick Terrick National Park in Victoria found that males, which had greater reproductive success and were in better condition, moulted into a brighter plumage the following year. However, male age and condition at the time were more likely to predict mating success for the following breeding season. Adult males can breed at one year of age, and may do so while yet in non-breeding plumage, but they are less successful at reproducing at this age. The oldest recorded age is 5 years and 7 months for a bird banded near Beverley, Western Australia, in 1990. A variety of calls have been recorded, described as 'tinkle' and 'blurt' songs. These are similar across mainland Australia but distinct on Rottnest Island; on the isolated island, birds rarely linked successive songs. This species may be confused with the related flame robin (P. phoenicea) and scarlet robin (P. boodang), but the male can be distinguished by its red crown (white in the other two species) and smaller size; furthermore, the male flame robin has dark grey rather than black upperparts. Female and immature birds are harder to distinguish, but can be differentiated by the reddish tinge of the crown and whiter underparts. 
Size
13 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Red-capped Robin primarily consumes insects, notably beetles (96%), and other arthropods like ants, spiders, and grasshoppers. Red-capped Robin often pounces on prey on the ground from a low perch, and occasionally captures insects mid-air. Red-capped Robin's foraging is mostly within 3 meters off the ground.
Habitat
Red-capped Robin typically resides in semi-arid to arid habitats, favoring a variety of woodland and shrubland environments. These include mallee, mixed open woodlands, and regions populated by acacia, mulga, and cypress pines. While red-capped Robin is adaptable to several eucalypt and acacia-dominated ecosystems, it generally avoids more humid areas and treeless plains. The species is also occasionally found in mesic coastal areas, though less frequently than in its preferred drier habitats.
Dite type
Insectivorous
People often ask
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
The red-capped robin is generally encountered alone or in pairs, although groups of up to eight birds—a mated pair and their young—may be seen in autumn and winter. The species may join mixed-species flocks with other small insectivorous passerines; species recorded include the willie wagtail (Rhipidura leucophrys), southern whiteface (Aphelocephala leucopsis), rufous whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) and black-faced woodswallow (Artamus cinereus) in Queensland, and the chestnut-rumped thornbill (Acanthiza uropygialis), buff-rumped thornbill (A. reguloides) or inland thornbill (A. apicalis) in Western Australia. The red-capped robin typically perches in a prominent location low to the ground, often flicking its wings and tail. It is very active and does not stay still for long. The female has been reported as being fairly tame, while the male is more wary of human contact. The red-capped robin is territorial during the breeding season; the area occupied has been measured between 0.25 and 1.2 ha (0.6–3 acres). A pair lives and forages within their territory before dispersing in autumn. The male proclaims ownership by singing loudly from a suitable perch at the territory boundary, and confronts other males with a harsh scolding call should they make an incursion. Two males have been seen to face one another 30 to 1 m (98.4 to 3.3 ft) apart, flicking wings and manoeuvring for position in a threat display, while the female is incubating her eggs. Both sexes also react to the playback of song recordings. The male will also defend against incursions by male scarlet robins, and conversely avoid foraging in the latter species' territories. Most juvenile red-capped robins are unable to live in territories occupied by adult birds, and need to travel to find unoccupied land; the furthest dispersal recorded to date has been 36 km (22 mi), from Terrick Terrick National Park across farmland to Gunbower National Park in northern Victoria.
Distribution Area
The red-capped robin is found across Australia, except for Tasmania, Cape York, the Top End, and most of the Kimberley (there have been occasional sightings in the southernmost parts). Offshore populations exist on Rottnest Island, as well as Greenly and Pearson Islands off the Eyre Peninsula, but it is not found on Kangaroo Island. Although widespread, it is uncommon in many areas; it is rare east of the Great Dividing Range, in coastal regions in the south of the continent, and in the northern parts of its range—it is seldom encountered north of 20°S. Its movements are generally poorly known, particularly outside the breeding season. It is sedentary in much of the southern parts of its range, although the red-capped robin is a spring and summer visitor to the Nullarbor Plain and Adelaide region in South Australia, and central Victoria. It is a winter visitor in the northern parts of its range. The red-capped robin prefers more arid habitat than its relatives, and inhabits drier areas, while the scarlet robin occupies wetter forests, where they co-occur. The red-capped robin's preferred habitat is dry Acacia, Callitris, or mixed scrubland or woodland, dominated by such species as mulga (Acacia aneura), Georgina gidgee (Acacia georginae), raspberry jam (Acacia acuminata), black cypress-pine (Callitris endlicheri), white cypress-pine (C. columellaris), and slender cypress-pine (C. preissii) with understory shrubs, such as Cassinia, hop-bush (Dodonaea), emu bush (Eremophila), and spinifex (Triodia).
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Australasian robins Species
Red-capped Robin 
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