The black robin or Chatham Island robin is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. It is closely related to the South Island robin. It was first described by Walter Buller in 1872. The binomial commemorates the New Zealand botanist Henry H. Travers (1844–1928). Unlike its mainland counterparts, its flight capacity is somewhat reduced. Evolution in the absence of mammalian predators made it vulnerable to introduced species, such as cats and rats, and it became extinct on the main island of the Chatham group before 1871, being restricted to Little Mangere Island thereafter.
Black robin
Illustration of the black robin, the Chatham fernbird, and Lyall's wren, extinct birds from its region, by John Gerrard Keulemans
Petroica traversi nest from the collection of Auckland Museum
The Chatham Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about 800 km (430 nmi) east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about 10 islands within an approximate 60 km (30 nmi) radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island (Rangiauria). They include New Zealand's easternmost point, the Forty-Fours. Some of the islands, formerly cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the unique flora and fauna.
The two largest islands: Chatham (Rēkohu) and Pitt Island (Rangiaotea), to the southeast
Schist rocks, Kaingaroa beach
Massive phytoplankton bloom around the islands
Chatham Islands Forget-me-not (Myosotidium hortensia)