Taxonomy
The Eastern Yellow Robin was first described by ornithologist George Shaw in 1790. Two subspecies are recognised; the Northern Yellow Robin (subsp. chrysorrhoa) and the nominate or Eastern (subsp. australis). The former was previously regarded as a separate species and called the Southern Yellow Robin.
Alternately, the The Eastern and Western Yellow Robins were classified as a single species by Julian Ford in 1979 on account of similarities in calls, ecology and behaviour. Playback of one species' calls in the other's territory evoked a response.
Like all Australian Robins, it is not closely related to either the European Robin or the American Robin, but belongs rather to the Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines including pardalotes, Fairy-wrens and honeyeaters as well as crows. It belongs to the genus Eopsaltria, whose Australian members are known colloquially as "Yellow Robins" as distinct from the "Red Robins" of the genus Petroica.
Read more about this topic: Eastern Yellow Robin