Rose Robin

The Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) is the most commonly recorded Petroica robin (1) found in the BirdLife East Gippsland Region. It is the most arboreal of the genus and is more flycatcher like in its hunting – less of a “perch and pounce” onto ground-based prey approach.

At Walhalla recently a male Rose Robin was observed in the tangled branches of an introduced deciduous tree where it was seen to hold out and flutter its wings which were held in a downward position – see the first photo below. It was not a hot day and there did not appear to be another Rose Robin present – male or female. A little research suggests this behaviour in males is a territorial display which is consistent with spring breeding when birds are establishing and holding breeding territory and looking to attract a mate. 

The following photos are of the subject male. 

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed. 

Finding any of the red (Petroica) robins in the field is always a cause for some excitement. 

(1) The Petroica genus in Australia comprises the following five robin species: Scarlet, Flame, Red-capped, Pink and Rose.