The rose robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Like many brightly coloured robins of the Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. The male has a distinctive pink breast. Its upperparts are dark grey with white frons, and its tail black with white tips. The underparts and shoulder are white. The female is an undistinguished grey-brown. The robin has a small black bill and eyes.
Region
Eastern Australia
Typical Environment
Found from southeastern Queensland through New South Wales to eastern Victoria, mainly along the Great Dividing Range and adjacent coastal forests. It favors cool, shaded habitats including temperate rainforests, wet sclerophyll forests, and ferny gullies. During cooler months some birds descend to lower elevations and more open, riparian woodlands. It is typically associated with dense midstorey and canopy cover near creeks and ravines.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The rose robin is a shy forest robin of eastern Australia, with males instantly recognized by their vivid pink breast. It often joins mixed-species foraging flocks in shaded gullies and ravines. Pairs build neat, mossy cup nests frequently placed over running water, camouflaged with lichen. Many populations move downslope in winter, making it an altitudinal partial migrant.
Female in Kobble Creek, southeast Queensland, Australia
Temperament
shy and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick sallies from a perch
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs during the breeding season, defending small territories in dense forest. Outside breeding, it often forages quietly within mixed-species flocks. The nest is a neat, moss-lined cup camouflaged with lichen, typically placed on a horizontal branch or fork over water.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Song is a thin, high-pitched series of clear piping notes and soft trills. Calls include sharp, high tseep or tik notes given from shaded perches, often difficult to locate.
