---
title: "South Island Robin"
description: "Petroica australis — Birds. The South Island robin (Petroica australis; also known in Māori as the kakaruai) is a sparrow-sized bird found only in New Zealand, where it has the status of a protected endemic species."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/south-island-robin
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# South Island Robin

> Petroica australis — Birds. The South Island robin (Petroica australis; also known in Māori as the kakaruai) is a sparrow-sized bird found only in New Zealand, where it has the status of a protected endemic species.

- Scientific name: *Petroica australis*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 5025
- Wikidata: [Q1051396](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1051396)
- iNaturalist taxon: [14170](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/14170)

## Names

- en: South Island Robin
- de: Langbeinschnäpper
- es: Petroica del Sur
- fr: Miro rubisole
- nl: Zuidereilandvliegenvanger
- pl: Skalinek wielki

## Countries with the most observations

NZ (4607)

## Summary

The South Island robin (Petroica australis; also known in Māori as the kakaruai) is a sparrow-sized bird found only in New Zealand, where it has the status of a protected endemic species. The birds are sparsely distributed through the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura, although the distribution is not continuous. The nominate, and the Stewart Island robin (P. australis rakiura) are the two subspecies. The species is closely related to the North Island robin (formerly P. australis longipes, now considered a distinct species), and also to the extremely rare black robin (P. traversi) of the Chatham Islands.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Island_robin

## Photo

![South Island Robin](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/south-island-robin/medium.jpg)

Photo: Henry Hart · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/202016267

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/south-island-robin?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).