Credit: Tomas Carlberg, Hans Bister and Craig Brelsford/shanghaibirding.com.
The European Robin is more closely related to the Afrotropical White-browed Robin-Chat than to the east Asian Japanese Robin, despite the close similarity in appearance between the European and Japanese Robins and the strongly different plumages of the European Robin and the White-browed Robin-Chat. The similarity between the two robins is an example of convergent evolution, which means that species can independently evolve similar appearances, for example due to similar life styles. The Thrush Nightingale and Bluethroat are close relatives and also more closely related to the Japanese Robin than to the European Robin. However, the nearest relative of the Bluethroat occurs in the Himalayas and Chinese mountains.