Microeca fascinans
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The jacky winter (Microeca fascinans) is a small grey-brown robin found commonly throughout Australia and also in Papua New Guinea. The jacky winter acquired its name due to rapid and strong vocalisations, which sound like jacky-jacky winter-winter. Their call is also often referred to as sounding like peter-peter-peter. Its habitats include open woodlands and farmlands.
The jacky winter belongs to the family of Australasian robins and flycatchers Petroicidae. This family includes around 49 species in around 19 genera that are all endemic to Australasia. The family Petroicidae evolved in a similar way to the Australo-Papuan warblers (Acanthizidae)—the latter evolved in isolation from similar families to them, namely Parulidae and Sylviidae, which occupied comparable niches in other continental regions, such as Central /South America and Eurasia, respectively. Petroicidae evolved in the Australo-Papuan area to fill an ecological niche, which was already being used by New World flycatchers (Tyrannidae) in North America and South America, and by Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae) in Europe, Africa, and Asia. This is an example of convergent evolution.... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Jacky Winter sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 156th most-seen of the 175 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Jacky Winter in Great Otway National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Jacky Winter sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate Jacky Winter sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 50%), Grampians National Park (Australia, about 10%) and Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Petroicidae
The closest relatives of the Jacky Winter that you can see in Great Otway National Park (family Petroicidae, Australasian Robins) are Eastern Yellow Robin (about 50%), Scarlet Robin (about 10%) and Pink Robin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Jacky Winter is recorded against all the birds logged in Great Otway National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
