Scarlet Robin | Miles To The Wild

In my last post, I talked about Yanchep as a destination. The nice thing about Yanchep is you can be as active or as lazy as you want and you will STILL see lots of birds! I’m in the lazy camp. I did do one hike around the small lake opposite Yanchep Inn but mostly I just kicked back at a picnic table or my room’s porch. Eremaea has a good bird list to give you an idea what to expect. Here’s some of the birds I saw.

Lots of Waterbirds

Cheeky Galahs

Carnaby’s Cockatoos

Black Swans

Australian Ringnecks

Laughing Kookaburras (they will try to steal your food!)

Purple Swamphens

Scarlet Robins

Brown Honeyeater

Splendid Fairy-wrens (vivid males and duller females)

Australian Wood Ducks (I think)

Australian Magpie

Red Wattlebird

Australian Wood Ducks (I think)

Red Wattlebird

Australian Wood Duck

Red Wattlebird

Welcome Swallows

The Scarlet Robin (Petroica boodang) is a small Australian robin that reaches 13 cm in length. The male has a black head and upper parts, with a conspicuous white forehead patch, white wing stripes and white tail-edges. The male has a bright scarlet-red chest and a white belly. The female is pale brown, darker above, and has a dull reddish breast and whitish throat.

The Scarlet Robin is endemic to Australia, where it is found near the coast from southern Queensland to central South Australia, Tasmania and south west Western Australia. The species is mostly sedentary over most of its range, but some mainland populations undergo small local movements in the autumn and winter, either to more open habitats or lower elevations. The Scarlet Robin is most commonly found in eucalyptus woodland and forest from sea level to 1000 m, particularly the more open habitats with grassy and shrubby understories.

I saw them in several places – Dryandra Woodland, Stirling Range, Fitzgerald River, Kalbarri and Bruny Island. The bright red chest makes them stand out so they are easily spotted within their range.