Australasian robins are not really robins at all. However, they looked enough like northern hemisphere robins for early European zoologists to lumber them with the moniker. Now we’re stuck with referring to them by a misnomer.

Rose robins are a rare treat to find in Noosa. I’ve experienced them in a small patch of forest at Tinbeerwah, and I know they’ve also been spotted in West Cooroy Conservation Park and at Cootharaba. Some of these temperate climate birds travel north and/or east for a holiday during the colder months, with Noosa being close to their northernmost limit. Expect to find them mid-year. Rose robins exhibit sexual dimorphism: that is, the male is quite different to the female, with the latter displaying just a hint of the blushing pink that festoons the male’s breast.

Pale-yellow robins are resident all year round, as are the similar eastern yellow robins. Pale-yellow robins are infrequently seen because they prefer dense rainforest. Eastern yellow robins are less fussy about their surroundings and can be found in a variety of wooded habitats. They are particularly fond of forest edges and walking trails. The eastern yellow robin is arguably the friendliest or most inquisitive member of the family. Sometimes they follow we lumbering hominids in the hope that we might stir up some tasty insects with our feet.

Both the pale-yellow and eastern yellow robins are with us all year round. Both also exhibit Velcro-like behaviour, attaching themselves sideways to vertical tree trunks while they scan the ground for insects. In both cases, the females look pretty much identical to the males. The brown juveniles, however, look like a completely different species (see photo). Pale-yellow robins can be distinguished from eastern yellow robins by being slightly smaller and having a white patch in front of each eye.

Eastern yellow robins have been used to study the impacts of eco-tourism. In 2021, a paper was published in the Australian Journal of Zoology, authored by three academics from the University of the Sunshine Coast. The researchers measured the impacts of ecotourists on the vocal behaviour of the robins. It was found that the birds sang fewer songs, and the songs were shorter, when there were more tourists and also when maintenance work was happening at the resort. The results may seem obvious enough – that human activities interrupt the natural behaviour of wild animals. But the study has pertinent implications for the commonplace misperception that eco-tourism equals environmentally sustainable tourism.