Eopsaltria
Genus of birds
title: "Eopsaltria" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["eopsaltria", "petroicidae", "bird-genera", "endemic-birds-of-australia", "taxa-named-by-william-swainson"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eopsaltria" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
| image = Eopsaltria australis 01.jpg | image_caption = Eastern yellow robin, Australian National Botanic Gardens | taxon = Eopsaltria | authority = Swainson, 1832 | type_species = Motacilla australis | type_species_authority = Shaw, 1790 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = see text | synonyms =
Eopsaltria is a genus of small forest passerines known in Australia as the yellow robins. They belong to the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek for "dawn singer/song" because of their dawn chorus. They are inquisitive and bold birds, and have been reported perching on the shoulders or boots of people in the bush. Open eucalyptus woodlands are their preferred habitat. The ornithologist John Gould likened the behaviour and mannerisms of the eastern and western yellow robin to those of the European robin. The name "yellow robin" itself was applied to the eastern yellow robin by the early settlers of New South Wales.
Taxonomy and systematics
The ornithologist William Swainson named the genus Eopsaltria in 1832, placing into it the bird that was then known as the yellow-breasted thrush (Pachycephala australis). Two species are currently classified within the genus: the eastern and western yellow robins, which have been alternately classified as a single species by Julian Ford since 1979 on account of similarities in their calls and behaviour. The eastern yellow robin itself was historically split into two species, the northern populations were given the name northern yellow robin (E. chrysorrhoa) while the remaining groups were known as the southern yellow robin.
Another species, the mangrove robin Peneoenanthe pulverulenta was often included in this genus. Although its plumage resembled that of the white-breasted robin, DNA analysis revealed it should be classified as a member of the New Guinea genus Peneothello.
Previously the two members of the genus Tregellasia were included in this genus; the pale-yellow robin (Tregellasia capito) and white-faced robin (T. leucops). The yellow-bellied flyrobin (Microeca flaviventris) of New Caledonia was previously classified in this genus as it had similar plumage, but a genetic analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA has placed it in the genus Microeca. Its nest and eggs resemble those of members of Microeca rather than Eopsaltria. The same study placed the white-breasted robin as sister taxon to the two Tregellasia robins and proposed the genus be sunk once again into Eopsaltria.
Extant species
The genus contains the following six species: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Poecilodryas placens - The Birds of New Guinea (2).jpg | 120px]] | Banded yellow robin | Eopsaltria placens |
| [[File:Eastern Yellow Robin 2007.jpg | 120px]] | Eastern yellow robin | Eopsaltria australis |
| [[File:Eopsaltria griseogularis.jpg | 120px]] | Western yellow robin | Eopsaltria griseogularis |
| [[File:Eopsaltria georgiana -Denmark, Western Australia, Australia-8.jpg | 120px]] | White-breasted robin | Eopsaltria georgiana |
| [[File:Tregellasia capito - Julatten.jpg | 120px]] | Pale-yellow robin | Eopsaltria capito |
| [[File:White-faced Robin (cropped).jpg | 120px]] | White-faced robin | Eopsaltria leucops |
| :: |
Former species
Formerly, some authorities also considered the following species (or subspecies) as species within the genus Eopsaltria:
- Grey whistler (sudestensis) (as Eopsaltria sudestensis)
- Melanesian whistler (cucullata) (as Eopsaltria cucullata)
- Tongan whistler (as Eopsaltria melanops)
- Samoan whistler (as Eopsaltria flavifrons)
References
References
- . ["Pectroicidae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=155). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- Wade Peter ''(ed.)''. (1977). "Every Australian Bird Illustrated". Rigby.
- Gould, John. (1865). "Handbook to The birds of Australia, Volume 1". self.
- (1831). "Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America". J. Murray.
- Ford, Julian. (1979). "Speciation or Subspeciation in the Yellow Robins?". Emu.
- Slater, Peter. (1974). "A Field Guide to Australian Birds:Non-passerines". Rigby.
- (2009). "Multi-locus phylogeny clarifies the systematics of the Australo-Papuan robins (Family Petroicidae, Passeriformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
- AviList Core Team. (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025".
- "Pachycephala griseiceps sudestensis - Avibase".
- "Pachycephala chlorura cucullata - Avibase".
- Gray, George Robert. (1859-01-01). "Catalogue of the Birds of the Tropical Islands of the Pacific Ocean". Taylor & Francis.
- "Pachycephala flavifrons - Avibase".
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