They Hide, You Seek

Bird of the Day Series, Social Media Content

Photo: Ambika Bone

This is the Australian Pink Robin, a 5” beauty found only in a 20,000 km block of south-eastern Australia—Tasmania, and the wetter parts of Victoria and New South Wales. They live in drier areas, in dense shrubby undergrowth. But they breed twice a year, and they breed in dense mossy forests; they prefer rainforests, eucalyptus groves and the bottoms of gullies. So, to find them, your odds are better if you hike into the damp woods.  

If you make it into their ‘hoods, you still can’t find them, because they will hide from you and stay perfectly still until you go away. The only way to know they’re around is if you hear the sound of twigs snapping—their call is ‘tik tik tik’. 

But they’re ground feeders, so if you look closely, you can find their nests—they nest at no more than 6’. The nests are deep cups of ferns, feathers and fur wrapped with moss and spider webs—this robin is one of the few birds to think of using spider webs.  

This photo is of a male; the females are warm-olive brown on top, with cinnamon chests. Populations are unknown but, following Australia’s 2019 fires, they are listed as ‘vulnerable’.