Pale-yellow Robin

1. Grey head with olive-green back and yellow-orange legs.

2. Pale yellow underparts and white throat.

3. Juveniles are rufous-brown with pale streaks on the head.

Pale Yellow Robins mainly eat insects, foraging by pouncing from low perches onto the ground or among foliage. They can also eat seeds occasionally. The breeding season runs from July to December, sometimes with two broods per year. Females build neat, cup-shaped nests from grass, rootlets, and spider webs, often decorated with moss and lichen, and usually placed one to six metres above the ground in dense vegetation or among lawyer vines. Females lay two eggs and incubate. Both parents, and sometimes additional helpers, feed the young. If a predator approaches the nest, adults may perform a distraction display, pretending to be injured to lure threats away from their chicks.

Pale Yellow Robins are found in two main regions: the Wet Tropics of North Queensland and a separate population from southeast Queensland to the mid-north coast of New South Wales. They prefer rainforests and moist eucalypt forests, especially where lawyer vine is common. These robins are most often seen in the lower and middle forest layers, rarely venturing high into the canopy. Look for them along forest tracks, clearings, or near streams, especially in the early morning when they are most active.