The Flame Robins (Petroica phoenicea) is also known as Flame-breasted Robin or Flame Robin; as well as Bank Robin, Redhead and Robin Red-breast.
Distribution / Range
It is native to Australia; where it inhabits the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
They are usually seen in pairs (during the spring and summer breeding season) or in loose companies in more open country in winter.
Robins … Laughing Thrushes … Mountain Robin … Rock-Thrushes … Thrushes
Description
They measure about 12–14 cm (5–6 in) in length. It is slender with relatively long wings and neck and small head. They have a small thin black bill and eyes.
It is sexually dimorphic (visual differences between males and females).
The male has a brilliant orange-red chest and throat and white frons. His upperparts are iron-grey with white bars, and his tail is black with white tips.
The female’s plumage is grey-brown.
Diet / Feeding
It is predominantly insectivorous, pouncing on prey from a perch in a tree, or foraging on the ground.
They have been seen in mixed-species flocks with other small insectivorous passerines, such as Scarlet Robins, Hooded Robins, White-fronted Chats, and Richard’s Pipits.
Feeding
This is a perch and pounces hunter, mainly eating insects, and often returning to a favourite low perch several times to stand erect and motionless, scanning the leaf-litter for more prey.
Breeding
The breeding season starts in August to January. They usually raise one or two broods. The cup nest is made of soft dry grasses, moss, and bark. Spider webs, feathers and fur are used for binding or filling.
The nest is usually situated in a tree fork crevice, cliff, or riverbank ledge.
The average clutch consists of three or four dull white eggs tinted bluish, greyish, or brownish and splotched with dark grey-brown, which measure 18 mm x 14 mm.
