Robin Specimens (IMAGE) University of Maryland Baltimore County Caption These almost-100-year-old robin specimens were critical to a new study led by Anna Kearns, a former UMBC postdoc now at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. The study found that robins on Australia and its surrounding islands actually comprise four distinct species, when they were previously thought to be only one. These new findings have significant implications for conservation and lead to questions about the evolution of birds in other island systems. The notes on the tags are from Ernst Mayr, a famous evolutionary biologist and ornithologist who originally study the birds in the 1930s. Credit Anna Kearns Usage Restrictions no commercial use allowed License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.