The pale-yellow robin is a species of passerine bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is an undistinguished bird with a grey head and olive upperparts, white throat and yellow underparts. The genders are similar. Two subspecies are recognised: the smaller nana from North Queensland, and the larger and uncommon nominate race capito from southeast Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. It is also insectivorous.
Region
Eastern Australia
Typical Environment
Found from north-eastern Queensland south through the coastal and subcoastal ranges into north-eastern New South Wales. It favors subtropical and tropical moist lowland and foothill rainforests, vine thickets, and dense riparian gullies. Birds typically keep to shaded, cluttered understory close to water and along rainforest edges. They are most often seen perched quietly a meter or two above the ground before making short foraging sallies. The species avoids open woodlands and heavily cleared areas.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Subtropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small Australasian robin keeps to the shaded understory of eastern Australian rainforests, where it perches low and sallies out for insects. Both sexes look alike, with a white throat and soft pale-yellow underparts that give the species its name. It builds a neat cup nest low in forks, often bound with spider silk and decorated with lichen. Two subspecies are recognized: the northern, smaller nana and the larger, scarcer nominate capito in the southeast of its range.
Temperament
quiet and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between low perches
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs maintaining year-round territories in dense understory. Pairs build a small cup nest low in a fork, using bark strips, moss, and spider silk. Clutch size is typically one to two eggs, and both adults attend the nest. They often join mixed-species foraging parties along rainforest edges.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a soft, thin series of high-pitched whistles and piping notes, often delivered from concealed perches. Calls include sharp tseep or see notes repeated at intervals, carrying quietly through the understory.
Plumage
Grey head and nape with olive-olive-brown upperparts, clean white throat and upper breast grading to pale yellow underparts; wings and tail dusky with olive wash.
Diet
Primarily small insects and other arthropods such as beetles, spiders, and caterpillars. Forages by sallying from low perches to snatch prey from leaves, trunks, or the ground. Also gleans methodically through dense foliage and vine tangles. Occasionally takes small invertebrates from leaf litter along gullies.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in shaded rainforest understory, vine thickets, and riparian gullies where cover is dense. Often works along edges, fallen logs, and low branches one to three meters above ground. Proximity to permanent moisture is typical.
