The Eastern Yellow Robin is a medium-sized robin and is another delightful small bird, common in our bush and gardens.
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It belongs to the Genus eopsaltria, which means “dawn-harper”, and the name is entirely appropriate for this bird.
It has a high pitched bell-like piping call that can be heard in the early mornings often just before dawn.
These birds, as their name suggests, are found on the eastern and south-eastern Australian mainland mostly along the coastal areas.
They can certainly found in many locations in the Hunter Valley. The favoured habitat of these robins is wet open forests, woodlands, coastal thickets and heathlands.
They eat insects, spiders and worms on the ground and hunt them by pouncing on them from a low bush or post.
Robins can often be seen clinging motionless and sideways on the trunks of trees and saplings while concentrating on the ground for any movement.
As a result of this habit of sitting motionless, the Eastern Yellow Robin is one of the most frequently photographed native birds.
The robins have a grey back and head and bright yellow underparts and an off-white throat.
They are 15 to 16cm long and have a large dark eye and a short pointed beak. The young birds are rufous-brown with lots of streaking.
Recently at a Hunter Bird Observers Club camp at Smiths Lake, we were totally confused by these brownish robin-like birds feeding in the coastal heath.
It took a while before we realised they were immature Eastern Yellow Robins. Bird identification can be tricky, particularly when they have immature plumage or are in moult.
Eastern Yellow Robins establish territories in small family groups but are most often seen singularly. They are reasonably tolerant of humans being close by and are quite inquisitive.
The female robin builds a nest in the fork of a shrub or small tree. This consists of a woven cup of woven grass, strips of bark and moss bound together with spider webs.
In late winter or early summer the female then produces up to three clutches of eggs. Young birds from previous clutches may help to care for the young.
In the breeding season robins are susceptible to parasitising by cuckoos, which lay their own eggs in the nest for the robins to hatch and raise.
According to Climate Watch, the effects of climate change may influence the timing of when Eastern Yellow Robins start to breed and the duration of their breeding activities.
Bird observers can help scientists answer: "How are our animals, plants and ecosystems responding to climate change?" by visiting climatewatch.org.au and recording observations.