It was once considered a subspecies of the New Zealand Robin of South and Stewart Islands, but mitochondrial DNA sequences have shown that the two lineages split prior to the Pleistocene and supported the split into two species.
The Snares subspecies feeds on the ground as well, in a similar fashion to the New Zealand Robin.
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The Trust plans to "bring back to the ecosanctuary native species that would have been there in times past" including Kiwi, seabirds, Kākāriki, South Island robin, Saddleback, Kākā, native bats, Tuatara and Jewelled gecko.
The North Island Robin, like the New Zealand Robin, is a terrestrial feeder foraging on or near the ground (unlike the related and more arboreal Tomtit).