5 things you may or may not know about robins

[David Rees <>]

Just remember that 'English' (common) names are  'cultural property' before they are playthings for persons needing to install some sort of taxonomic order, that's what we have scientific names for.  It is no surprise that the red breasted birds here we now call 'robins' were called as such by NW Europeans when they first saw them, being of similar size, appearance and ecological function.  The non-red breasted NZ Petroica species are also called 'Robins'  probably due to their tameness and curiosity  (i.e. being round your feet, just like Robins in British gardens often are) their alert upright stance and hunting behaviour so similar to the European Robin.  An example can be seen at https://vimeo.com/305641236 

On Tue, Jul 2, 2019 at 11:10 AM Philip Veerman <> wrote:

Well yes of course that our robins were named after the European Robin because of the sort of similar overall appearance and obvious (on some) red breast, is just another historical error that would imply a relationship that really isn’t there. The same for the American Robin which is just an orange-breasted thrush. The extract that Tony posted below skirts around this and so does not really make any error. Just takes the name forward with the way we use it now without suggesting anything wrong.

 

Philip

 

From: Geoffrey Dabb [
Sent: Tuesday, 2 July, 2019 9:17 AM
To:
Subject: FW: [canberrabirds] 5 things you may or may not know about robins

 

One could go on about names that do not always match appearance by reason of geographical variation.  Examples are ‘Purple Swamphen’ (the ones here being just on the indigo side of blue) and the sometimes yellow ‘Crimson Rosella’. From time to time the English Names Committee considers possible changes, but many people do not like changes for whatever reason.

 

If you use a global list for ticking purposes you might see ‘Flyrobin’ for some Microeca ‘robins’.  The committee considered that issue last year in reviewing names on the Australian list but decided after some debate to stay with ‘Flycatcher’ for M. flavigaster.

 

From: Tony Lawson <>
Sent: Monday, 1 July 2019 6:53 PM
To: COG Chatline <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] 5 things you may or may not know about robins

 

1. While we may think of robins as ‘Robin Red-breasts’, of the 20 species of robins that occur in Australia, only six have red (or shades thereof) on their breasts; just as many species of robins have shades of yellow.
2. The Lemon-bellied Flycatchers that live in Western Australia’s Kimberley have no yellow plumage at all — despite their name.
3. Robins are among our most fastidious nest builders. Some bind the outsides of their nests with spider webs to make the surface smooth and neat, while others patiently add a coat of lichen and moss to provide camouflage.
4. Many species of robins pounce onto their food from a low perch, but Rose Robins feed more like fantails, sallying after flying insects in the air, fluttering acrobatically around shrubs and the crowns of trees.
5. The Eastern Yellow Robin is one of the first birds to begin calling in the dawn chorus, starting in the darkness, well before the sun comes up. Its scientific name means ‘dawn singer’.

http://birdlife.org.au/media/5-things/