White-browed Robin
Poecilodryas superciliosa (Gould, 1847)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-browed robin (Poecilodryas superciliosa) is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. It is endemic to north-eastern Australia. Its natural habitats are forest, woodland and scrub, often near water. It formerly included the buff-sided robin as a subspecies. The white-browed robin was described by the naturalist John Gould in 1847; the genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words poekilos 'spotted' and dryas 'dryad'. The species name is derived from the Latin word supercilium 'eyebrow'. It 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. The white-browed robin has, as its name suggests, a prominent white marking resembling an eyebrow above its eyes. It has olive-brown upperparts, with a white patch on the wings. The underparts are pale, the breast pale grey and belly white.
Wikipedia contributors, White-browed robin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:16:03.851044+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poecilodryas superciliosa (Gould, 1847)
- Name authority
- (Gould, 1847)
- Common name
- White-browed Robin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Petroicidae
- Genus
- Poecilodryas
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPetroicidae Mathews, 1920
- genusPoecilodryas Gould, 1865
- speciesPoecilodryas superciliosa (Gould, 1847)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Poecilodryas. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Poecilodryas cerviniventris (Gould, 1858) | PetroicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated RobinPoecilodryas albonotata (Salvadori, 1875) | PetroicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-sided RobinPoecilodryas hypoleuca (G. R. Gray, 1859) | PetroicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Olive-yellow RobinPoecilodryas placens (E. P. Ramsay, 1879) | PetroicidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=562360 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4KTHY. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.