Petroica pusilla
The Pacific Robin (*Petroica multicolor*) is a striking member of the Australasian robin family (Petroicidae), celebrated for its vibrant plumage and confiding nature across its island range. Males are instantly recognizable with their brilliant fiery scarlet breast and belly, contrasting sharply with a glossy black head, back, and wings, accented by a prominent white wing bar and a small white forehead spot. Females are distinctly duller, presenting a more subdued grey-brown on the upperpart...
Found in tropical to subtropical rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, woodlands, and mangrove edges, from sea level to moderate elevations up to 1,500 meters.
Primarily insects (beetles, moths, caterpillars, flies, spiders) and other small invertebrates. Forages by sallying from perches and gleaning.
The Pacific Robin is primarily diurnal, exhibiting an active foraging style throughout the day, often returning to a favored low perch after short flights. Its primary foraging strategy is 'sally-gleaning' or 'sally-hawking', where it drops from a perch to snatch insects from the ground, foliage,...
The Pacific Robin (*Petroica multicolor*) boasts a broad, though fragmented, geographic distribution across the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Its breeding and resident range extends from the Solomon Islands, through Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa, eastward to Tonga and Norfolk Island, and westward to par...
Least Concern
- Despite its common name, the Pacific Robin is not closely related to the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) or the American Robin (Turdus migratorius).