North Island Robin

The North Island robin (Petroica longipes; Māori: toutouwai, pronounced [ˈtoutouwai]) is a species of Australasian robin endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It and the South Island robin (P. australis) of the South Island and Stewart Island were once considered conspecific (and called the "New Zealand robin"), but mitochondrial DNA sequences have shown that the two lineages split prior to the Pleistocene, and support the classification as two different species. == Description == The plumage is dark grey-black overall, with a pale area (smaller than that of the South Island robin) on the belly and breast, and pale streaking on the upperparts. They are sexually dimorphic, with males having darker plumage than the females and being slightly larger. == Distribution and habitat == The North Island robin is distributed mostly in the centre of the North Island, with small relict populations in the north and south, on Moturua Island in the Bay of Islands, Little Barrier Island, and Kapiti Island. Populations have been reestablished in the Zealandia sanctuary in Wellington, at Bushy Park near Whanganui, and at Moehau on the Coromandel Peninsula. A remnant population is also reestablishing itself in the Ōhope Scenic Reserve, near Whakatāne; 40 birds…