Tomtit
North Island Tomtit
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Petroicidae Genus: Petroica Species: P. macrocephala
Binomial name
Petroica macrocephala (Gmelin, 1789)

The Tomtit, Petroica macrocephala, is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae, the Australian robins. It is endemic to the islands of New Zealand, ranging across the main islands as well as several of the outlying islands. It is known as a Miromiro in Māori and has several other English names as well. There are several sub-species showing considrable variation in plumage and size. The species is not threatened and has adapted to the changes made to New Zealand's biodiversity. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn3. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Digimon, the only known animals. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... Genera Poecilodryas Heteromyias Plesiodryas Gennaeodryas Peneothello Tregellasia Eopsaltria Melanodyas Monachella Microeca Eugerygone Petroica Pachycephalopsis Drymodes The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Johann Friedrich Gmelin (August 8, 1748 - November 1, 1804) was a German naturalist and botanist. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ... Genera Poecilodryas Heteromyias Plesiodryas Gennaeodryas Peneothello Tregellasia Eopsaltria Melanodyas Monachella Microeca Eugerygone Petroica Pachycephalopsis Drymodes The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. ... In biology and ecology endemic means exclusively native to a place or biota, in contrast to cosmopolitan or introduced. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Māori or Te Reo Māori, commonly shortened to Te Reo (literally the language) is an official language of New Zealand. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... In taxonomy, a subspecies is the taxon immediately subordinate to a species. ... Closeup on a single white feather A feather is one of the epidermal growths that forms the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on a bird. ... The biodiversity of New Zealand, a large Pacific archipelago, is one of the most unusual on Earth, due to its long isolation from other continental landmasses. ...

Taxonomy and evolution

The Tomtit is one of four species of the genus Petroica found in New Zealand, the ancestors of which having colonised from Australia. The species was once thought to have been descended from the Scarlet Robin, ^[1] although more recent research has questioned this. It seems likely that there were two colonisation events, with the North Island Robin and the South Island Robin descended from one event and the Black Robin and Tomtit from another.^[2] For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Petroica multicolor (Gmelin, 1789) The Scarlet Robin, is a common red-breasted Australasian robin in the passerine bird genus Petroica. ... Binomial name Petroica traversi (Buller, 1872) The Black Robin or Chatham Island Robin is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. ...

There are five subspecies of the Tomtit, each species being restricted to each of the following islands or island groups, North Island, South Islands, the Snares Islands, the Chatham Islands and the Auckland Islands. Four of these five subspecies have been elevated to full species in the past (the Chatham subspecies was retained with the South Island Tomtit),^[3], but genetic studies have shown that these subspecies diverged relatively recently.^[2] In zoology, as in other branches of biology, subspecies is the rank immediately subordinate to a species. ...

Description

The Tomtit is a small (13cm, 11g) bird with a large head and a short bill. The male North Island subspecies has black head, back, wings (with a white wing bar) and a white belly. The subspecies from South Island, the Chatham Islands and Auckland Islands are similar but have a yellow band across the breast between the black head and white belly. The females are brown instead of black. The Snares Island subspecies is entirely black, and is known as the Black Tit.^[4] North Island The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, the other being the South Island. ... The South Island The South Island is one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ... The Chatham Islands from space. ... The Auckland Islands (50°42′ S 166°5′ E) form a sub-antarctic archipelago of New Zealand. ...

The island subspecies of Tomtits show a striking variation in body size, being considerably larger than their mainland relatives, a tendency known as the island rule. Birds from the main islands weigh around 11g, but birds from Snares Island weigh in at 20g. Fosters rule (also known as the island rule) is a principle in evolutionary biology stating that members of a species will get smaller or bigger depending on the resources available in the environment. ...

Behaviour

The Tomtit is mostly a insectivore, feeding on small invertebrates such as beetles, caterpillars, spiders, moths, weta, earthworms and flies. Fruit is taken during the winter and autumn. Most subspecies feed in vegetation, waiting on a perch and watching for prey. Insects are also gleaned from branches and leaves. The Snares subspecies feeds on the ground as well, in a similar fashion to the New Zealand Robin.^[4] Any organism with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures is an insectivore. ... The weta family comprises around 70 insect species endemic to the New Zealand archipelago. ... Binomial name Petroica australis (Sparrman, 1788) The New Zealand Robin or Toutouwai (Petroica australis) is a sparrow-sized bird found only in the main islands of New Zealand. ...

Subspecies

• North Island Tomtit P. macrocephala toitoi
• South Island Tomtit P. macrocephala macrocephala
• Chatham Island Tomtit P. macrocephala chathamensis
• Auckland Island Tomtit P. macrocephala marrineri
• Snares Island Tomtit P. macrocephala dannefaerdi

References