The white-winged robin (Peneothello sigillata) is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae.

Distribution and habitat

The white-winged robin is found in the New Guinea Highlands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is found in the highlands of New Guinea at elevations of 2400 to 3900 m and is replaced by the slaty robin at lower elevations.

Description

Measuring 14 to 15 cm, the adult white-winged robin has black plumage, with largely white wings. The male and female are identical. The bill and feet are black, and the eyes are dark brown. Juveniles have a variable streaked brown plumage.

Behaviour

Within the forest the robin is found in pairs or small troops of several birds in the understory or on the ground. It is insectivorous, but does also eat some seeds. The somewhat bulky cup-shaped nest is constructed in a tree fork.

Taxonomy

Described by English naturalist, Charles Walter De Vis, in 1890, the white-winged robin is a member of the Australasian robin family Petroicidae. Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridisation studies placed this group in a Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines, including pardalotes, fairy-wrens, honeyeaters, and crows. However, subsequent molecular research (and current consensus) places the robins as a very early offshoot of the Passerida (or "advanced" songbirds) within the songbird lineage.

Subspecies

Within the species, three subspecies are recognised—the nominate subspecies, which is found on the main mountain range along New Guinea from the Bismarck Range eastwards, subspecies hagenensis from Mount Hagen west into Irian Jaya, and subspecies saruwagedi of the Huon Peninsula.