The buff-sided robin is a small, diurnal, insectivorous, perching (passerine) bird in the family Petroicidae, a group commonly known as the Australo-Papuan or Australasian robins. It is also known as the buff-sided fly-robin, buff-sided shrike-robin and Isabellflankenschnäpper (German). The buff-sided robin is endemic to northern Australia, where it primarily occurs in riparian forests and monsoon vine thickets from the Kimberly region of Western Australia to the north-west Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria. The plumage of the adult birds is characterised by a dark hood and back with a prominent white stripe on the supercilium; a white throat, white wing and tail bars, and a striking buff to orange patch on the flank below the wings. Adult birds are not sexually dimorphic; however, males are generally larger and can be separated from females based on morphological measurements. Buff-sided robins predominantly take insects from the ground by sallying from an observational perch. Insect prey are also occasionally taken by hawking on the wing or by gleaning from the trunk or foliage of riparian vegetation.
Region
Northern Australia
Typical Environment
Occurs from the Kimberley of Western Australia across the Top End of the Northern Territory to the Gulf of Carpentaria in north-western Queensland. It favors riparian forests, monsoon vine thickets, paperbark-lined creeks, and dense gallery woodlands. The species is closely tied to permanent or seasonal water and shaded understory. It can persist in fragmented ribbons of habitat along creeks and pockets of vine thicket within savanna landscapes.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 600 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This Australasian robin is confined to the tropical north of Australia and is often seen along shaded creeks and vine thickets. Sexes look alike, with a bold white eyebrow and buff-orange flanks, though males are typically slightly larger. Pairs defend linear territories along watercourses and build neat cup nests from bark and spider silk, often decorated with lichen. They sally from low perches to snatch insects from the ground, foliage, or in short aerial sorties.
![Gould's 1865 illustration of the buff-sided robin from his Birds of Australia Supplement.[5]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Poecilodryas_cerviniventris_Gould_detail.png/480px-Poecilodryas_cerviniventris_Gould_detail.png)
Gould's 1865 illustration of the buff-sided robin from his Birds of Australia Supplement.[5]
Buff-sided robin eggs collected by H.G. Barnard on the McArthur River Station, Northern Territory, 1913. Museum of Victoria H.L. White Collection.
Early 19th century buff-sided robin specimen collected by W.B. Spencer at Flora River, Northern Territory, and held by the Museum of Victoria (H.L. White Collection)
Adult buff-sided robin, Lawn Hill QLD.
Juvenile plumage
First immature plumage
Typical riparian habitat of the buff-sided robin with fringing Melaleuca leucadendra, Nauclea orientalis and Barringtonia acutangula. Eastern Northern Territory
Buff-sided robin hunting for insects in leaf litter, eastern Northern Territory
Edgar: longest lived and least adventurous buff-sided robin
Temperament
quiet and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats; quick sallying flights from low perches
Social Behavior
Typically found in pairs or small family groups that maintain year-round territories along watercourses. Nests are open cups placed low to mid-level in forks, vines, or saplings near water. Breeding occurs during the tropical wet season; the female primarily incubates while the male assists with provisioning.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, clear series of thin whistles and piping notes delivered from shaded perches. Calls include sharp ticks and soft trills used for contact and territory advertisement. Song carries modestly through dense understory.
