Belongs within: Passerides.
Contains: Petroica.
The Petroicidae include the Australasian robins, a group of small insectivorous birds found primarily in wooded areas. Molecular data also support the inclusion of the scrub-robins of the genus Drymodes, which have longer legs and tail than other members of the family. Microeca, flyrobins, are long-winged species with grey or green upperparts and often yellow underparts.
Characters (The Internet Bird Collection): Small, rather stocky passerines with large rounded head and rather big eyes, short to moderately long, straight, thin bill with upper mandible hooked to varying degree, some with broader, flatter bill, most species with moderately long and slender legs, rounded to slightly pointed wings, short to moderately long tail, a few with very short or very long tail; plumage generally olive, grey, brown or black above, often with pale wingbar, and frequently more colourful below, some species black, grey and white, a few taxa all black.
<==Petroicidae [Eopsaltriidae, Petroicinae]
| i. s.: Monachella muellerianaJT12
| Devioeca papuanaOF19
| Peneoenanthe pulverulentaAP21
|--+--AmalocichlaBKB15
| | |--A. incertaBKB15
| | `--A. sclaterianaBKB15
| `--PachycephalopsisBKB15
| |--P. poliosomaBKB15
| `--+--P. hattamensisBKB15
| `--PetroicaBKB15
`--+--MicroecaBKB15
| | i. s.: M. brunneicauda Campbell 1902 [incl. M. brunneicauda tormenti Mathews 1916]WS48
| | M. flavovirescensJT12
| | M. hemixanthaJT12
| | M. leucophaea (Latham 1801) [=Sylvia leucophaea]WS48
| | |--M. l. leucophaeaWS48
| | |--M. l. assimilis Gould 1840WS48 [=M. fascinans assimilisM03]
| | `--M. l. subpallida Mathews 1912 [=M. fascinans subpallida]WS48
| | M. papuanaAP21
| |--M. griseocepsBKB15
| `--+--M. flaviventrisAP21 [=Eopsaltria flaviventrisJT12; incl. E. flavigastraS13]
| `--+--M. fascinansJT12
| | |--M. f. fascinansM03
| | |--M. f. barcooM03
| | `--M. f. pallidaM03
| `--M. flavigaster Gould 1842BKB15, WS48
| |--M. f. flavigasterPCC13
| |--M. f. laetissimaM03
| `--M. f. tormenti Mathews 1916PCC13
`--+--Drymodes Gould 1841BKB15, B94 [Drymodinae]
| |--D. beccariiAP21
| |--D. brunneopygia Gould 1840 [incl. Drymoeodus pallidus Sharpe 1883]WS48
| `--D. superciliarisJT12
| |--D. s. superciliarisM03
| `--D. s. colcloughiM03
`--+--+--HeteromyiasBKB15
| | |--H. albispecularisBKB15
| | `--H. cinereifronsN90
| `--PoecilodryasBKB15
| |--P. albonotataJT12
| |--P. brachyuraJT12
| |--P. cerviniventris (Gould 1857)BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
| |--P. hypoleucaJT12
| |--P. placensJT12
| |--P. pulverulenta (Bonaparte 1851) [=Myiolestes pulverulentus]WS48
| | |--P. p. pulverulentaWS48
| | `--P. p. cinereiceps Hartert 1905 [incl. Pachycephala leucura connectens Mathews 1912]WS48
| `--P. superciliosa (Gould 1846) [=Petroica superciliosa]WS48
`--+--+--MelanodryasBKB15
| | |--M. bicolorCH89
| | |--M. cucullata (Latham 1801)WS48 (see below for synonymy)
| | `--M. vittata (Quoy & Gaimard 1830) [=Petroeca vittata, M. (Amaurodryas) vittata]CC10
| `--+--‘Eopsaltria’ pulverulentaBKB15
| `--PeneothelloBKB15
| |--P. bimaculataAP21
| |--P. cryptoleucaAP21
| |--P. cyanusBKB15
| `--P. sigillataBKB15
`--Eopsaltria Swainson 1832BKB15, B94
| i. s.: E. nanaR87
|--+--E. australisBKB15
| | |--E. a. australisM03
| | `--E. a. chrysorrhoaM03
| `--E. griseogularis Gould 1838BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
| |--E. g. griseogularisM03 [=E. australis griseogularisSJ85]
| `--E. g. rosinaeM03
`--+--E. georgiana (Quoy & Gaimard 1830)BKB15, WS48 (see below for synonymy)
`--TregellasiaBKB15
|--T. capitoBKB15
| |--T. c. capitoM03
| `--T. c. nanaM03
`--T. leucopsBKB15
Eopsaltria georgiana (Quoy & Gaimard 1830)BKB15, WS48 [=Muscicapa georgianaWS48; incl. E. leucogaster Gould 1846WS48, Quoyornis georgianus warreni Mathews 1916WS48]
Eopsaltria griseogularis Gould 1838BKB15, WS48 [incl. Muscicapa gularis Quoy & Gaimard 1830 (preoc.)WS48, E. gularisR87, E. griseogularis quoyi Mathews 1920WS48, E. griseogularis wongani Mathews 1920WS48]
Melanodryas cucullata (Latham 1801)WS48 [=Muscicapa cucullataWS48, Petroica cucullataJF06; incl. Melanodryas picata Gould 1865WS48, P. cucullata westralensis Mathews 1912WS48]
Poecilodryas cerviniventris (Gould 1857)BKB15, WS48 [=Petroica cerviniventrisWS48, Po. superciliosa cerviniventrisWS48; incl. Pachycephala superciliosa belcheri Mathews 1912WS48, Po. superciliosa derbyi Mathews 1913WS48]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AP21] Arlott, N., & B. van Perlo. 2021. Collins Birds of the World. William Collins.
[B94] Bock, W. J. 1994. History and nomenclature of avian family-group names. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 222: 1–281.
[BKB15] Burleigh, J. G., R. T. Kimball & E. L. Braun. 2015. Building the avian tree of life using a large-scale, sparse supermatrix. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 84: 53–63.
[CC10] Checklist Committee (OSNZ). 2010. Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand, Norfolk and Macquarie Islands, and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica 4th ed. Ornithological Society of New Zealand and Te Papa Press: Wellington.
[CH89] Cox, J. D., & A. G. Hamilton. 1889. A list of the birds of the Mudgee district, with notes on their habits, etc. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 4 (2): 395–424.
[JT12] Jetz, W., G. H. Thomas, J. B. Joy, K. Hartmann & A. Ø. Mooers. 2012. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature 491: 444–448.
[JF06] Jønsson, K. A., & J. Fjeldså. 2006. A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds. Zoologica Scripta 35: 149–186.
[M03] Morcombe, M. 2003. Field Guide to Australian Birds 2nd ed. Steve Parish Publishing.
[N90] North, A. J. 1890. On the nidification of Heteromyias cinereifrons, Ramsay, and Orthonyx spaldingi, Ramsay. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 4 (4): 1050–1051.
[OF19] Oliveros, C. H., D. J. Field, D. T. Ksepka, F. K. Barker, A. Aleixo, M. J. Andersen, P. Alström, B. W. Benz, E. L. Braun, M. J. Braun, G. A. Bravo, R. T. Brumfield, R. T. Chesser, S. Claramunt, J. Cracraft, A. M. Cuervo, E. P. Derryberry, T. C. Glenn, M. G. Harvey, P. A. Hosner, L. Joseph, R. T. Kimball, A. L. Mack, C. M. Miskelly, A. T. Peterson, M. B. Robbins, F. H. Sheldon, L. F. Silveira, B. T. Smith, N. D. White, R. G. Moyle & B. C. Faircloth. 2019. Earth history and the passerine superradiation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 116 (16): 7916–7925.
[PCC13] Pearson, D. J., M. A. Cowan & W. Caton. 2013. The avifauna of larger islands along the Kimberley coast, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 81: 125–144.
[R87] Ramsay, E. P. 1887. Descriptions of Australian birds’ eggs. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, series 2, 1 (4): 1141–1152, pl. 19.
[S13] Sarasin, F. 1913. Die Vögel Neu-Caledoniens und der Loyalty-Inseln. In: Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 1 pp. 1–78, pls 1–3. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.
[SJ85] Storr, G. M., & R. E. Johnstone. 1985. Field Guide to the Birds of Western Australia 2nd ed. Western Australian Museum: Perth (Australia).
[WS48] Whittell, H. M., & D. L. Serventy. 1948. A systematic list of the birds of Western Australia. Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of Western Australia, Special Publication 1: 1–126.