Indian robin

Saxicoloides fulicatus

Photo by J.M. Garg (Wikipedia)

Common name:

Indian robin (en); pisco-da-India (pt); pseudotraquet indien (fr); tarabilla terrestre (es); strauchschmätzer (de)

Taxonomy:

Order Passeriformes

Family Muscicapidae

Range:

This Asian species is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Size:

These birds are 12-14 cm long and weigh 16-17 g.

Habitat:

These birds are found in open stony, grassy and scrub forest habitats. They are mainly found in dry habitats and are mostly absent from the thicker forest regions and high rainfall areas. They are also often found close to human habitations. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of 1.600 m.

Diet:

The Indian robin is mostly insectivorous, but they are also known to take frogs and lizards, especially when feeding young at the nest.

Breeding:

These birds breed in December-September. The nests are built between rocks, in holes in walls or in a tree hollow and are lined with animal hair and sometimes pieces of snake sloughs. The female lays 3-4 white or faint green eggs, which are incubated by the female alone for 10-12 days. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge around 12 days after hatching.

Conservation:

IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)

The Indian robin has a very large breeding range and, although the global population size has not been quantified, the species is described as common throughout the Indian Subcontinent south of the Himalayas, uncommon to rare in Nepal and very common in the dry zone in Sri Lanka. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.