Facts about the black robin

Black robin

The black robin is a small (~10 cm high) songbird with completely black plumage.  It has a short fine, black bill, long thin dark legs and an upright stance.  The sexes are alike, although the female is slightly smaller. 

Females usually lay two eggs, and often re-lay if a clutch is lost. All the black robins alive are descended from that last breeding female, named 'Old Blue,' one of seven birds rescued from Little Mangere in 1976. Old Blue was one of the longest-lived robins known, reaching 14 years of age.

Black robins live in woody vegetation, beneath the canopy of trees. They spend a lot of time in the lower branches of the forest in order to shelter from the strong winds that buffet the Chatham Islands group. They also like foraging for insects in the deep layers of litter found on flat areas of the forest floor.

Black robins currently live on Rangatira (South East) Island and Mangere Island in the Chatham Islands group. Attempts made to establish another population in a fenced convenant on Pitt Island have failed, possibly due to competition for food with introduced mice.