Despite Their Striking Resemblance in Appearance, the European Robin Is Not Closely Connected to the Japanese Robin, According to a New Study

Tropical Africa is home to the closest relatives of the European robin. But despite having a striking likeness in appearance, the European and Japanese robins are not strongly connected to one another.

Mapped family tree of old-world flycatchers

(Photo : Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

More than 300 different bird species that are found in Europe, Asia, and Africa make up the family of Old-World flycatchers.

Not only flycatchers, but also nightingales, chats, wheatears, redstarts, whistling-thrushes, forktails, and other unusual groups, are members of the flycatcher family, as per ScienceDaily.

The European robin, the pied flycatcher, and the thrush nightingale are three of Sweden's twelve breeding species, and they are also its most well-known residents.

Of these species, all but three spend the winter in Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.

DNA analysis has allowed scientists from Uppsala University, the University of Gothenburg, and the University of Florida to retrace the ancestry of 92% of the Old-World flycatcher species.

This investigation reveals new, surprising relationships while also supporting earlier relationship-related discoveries.

Flycatcher species are spread across several different branches of the family tree, making them members of unrelated groupings.

The pied, collared, and red-breasted flycatchers are tightly linked to one another in terms of the Swedish flycatchers, although the spotted flycatcher seems to be a more distant relative.

Research on flycatchers, particularly pied and collared flycatchers, has a long history at Uppsala University.

The current study supports the idea that the Himalayas and the mountains of China are home to the bluethroat, also known as the Swedish mountain nightingale.

Also Read: New Bird Species Discovered in Indonesia

Features of European Robin

Little bird with a distinctive and endearing orangey face and breasts. With prominent, pale buffy markings on the back and breast, the juvenile is significantly distinct, as per Ebird.

Found in a variety of forested environments, including as forests, gardens, farming hedges, and heathland, normally pretty close to cover.

It hops cheerfully on the ground, pausing to take in its surroundings and frequently flapping its wings and cocking its tail.

Additionally feeds by swooping down from low perches, capturing prey, and then soaring up off the ground to a shady perch.

The spectrum of warbles and trills used in high-pitched music is very diverse. A wandering warbling sequence known as a subsong frequently includes strange fizzing and twittering notes.

A dry tic, which is sometimes emitted in spurts, and a thin, high-pitched, descending alarm call are examples of calls.

Convergent Evolution

It is believed that unrelated species that have undergone comparable evolutionary processes have undergone convergence, as per biologydictionary.

It frequently happens when a species adapts to use a resource similar to another but has undergone a distinct evolutionary process.

Mimicry complexes, in which animals evolve to resemble the morphology of different species, can also result in convergent evolution.

This adaptation helps the mimic either by providing protection when it mimics the phenotypic of a harmful or toxic creature or allows the mimic by enabling it to take advantage of a supply or contact by being mistaken for the model.

Convergent evolution is in the opposite of divergent evolution, in which closely related species evolve different traits, and parallel evolution, in which related but distinct species that share a common ancestor but come from different clades develop comparable traits.