Australasian Robins and Tits
The gallery features images of Australasian Robins (Petroicidae) that I photographed in wooded areas in Australia and New Zealand together with Northern Hemisphere Tits (Paridae). See Taxonomy note below.
Australasian Robins
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Australasian Robin Notes
All featured species are ‘Red List 2019’ assessed as ‘Least Concern’. The gallery includes four Australian endemics: Eastern Yellow Robin, Pale-yellow Robin, Stewart Island Robin, and South Island Tomtit. The two images of the Eastern Yellow Robin feature the nominate and chrysorrhos subspecies together with both sexes of the Stewart Island Robin.
Tits
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Tits
Notes
All the photos are from my garden where I have provided several nest boxes. Both blue and great tits have nest successfully although I am not always around to them fledge. The success rate varies from year to year. When I clean out the boxes in late autumn, I sometimes find unhated eggs and occasionally a dead chick.
Australasian Robins and Tits Taxonomy
The figure shows a simplified family tree that only includes taxonomy relevant to the Australasian Robins and Tits photo album. Corvida is the sister group of Passerida.
J Boyd’s Taxonomy in Flux Checklist places:
(a) The Australasian Robins (Petroicidae) family in superfamily Callaeoidea under Basal Passerida.
(b) And Tits (Parinae) subfamily which is part of Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice (Paridae), superfamily Paroidea under Passerida.
Some authorities place Australasian Robins (Petroicidae) in superfamily Corvoidea and Tits (Paridae/Parinae) in Sylvioidea.
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