Robins
are the UK's third most common bird, coming behind the wren and the
chaffinch and ahead of the blackbird and house sparrow.1
It is many people's favourite bird, and immediately recognisable even to people with little interest in wildlife.
 |
| The Robin [Source: Ramin Nakisa] |
The
robin is extremely common in the UK. There are around 5.9 million
territories. It’s most common in England and Wales, south of a line
around Yorkshire. It rarely migrates. A few birds travel to Spain or
Portugal in the winter and a few arrive from northern Europe.
The
robin has historically been considered a member of the thrush family.
The thrush family is split into true thrushes (blackbirds, song
thrushes etc) and chats, which includes the robin. More recently some
authorities have placed the robin in the separate "Old World
Flycatcher" family.2
Distinctive
Features
The
robin is small and brownish, with a biggish head, short, thin bill,
and long, thin legs.
It also has a narrow faint yellow wing bar, which is
easiest to see on the juveniles.
Most
famously, the robin has a red ‘bib’ covering the face and breast.
Both male and female have this.
A
juvenile robin does not have a red bib. Instead its whole plumage is
finely spotted, betraying its relation to the thrush. The juvenile
robin has a partial moult after 6-7 weeks, slowly losing its spotty
plumage.
 |
| Adult and Juvenile Robin [Source: Petirrojo (Erithacus rubecula marionae)] |
Robins
usually look rather sleek, but sometimes they appear rounded and
compact. Sometimes this is because they have ruffled up their
feathers.
.jpg) |
| Compact-Looking Robin[Source: Marek Szczepanek] |
On
the ground, robins hop rapidly with their feet together and wings
drooped. They cock their tail and appear to ‘courtsey.’
Robins
move in fits and starts. A robin will perch motionless, make a sudden
movement, and then be perched motionless again. You can see a video
of this.
The
call of the robin is a short hard ‘tick.’ When it’s nervous,
the tick is protracted into a ‘tick-ick-ick-ick.’
The
song of the robin usually starts with thin drawn out notes and then
speeds up. No two verses are the same. It can be heard pretty much
the whole year. Some say that the robin’s song is sad and wistful
in the autumn and becomes stronger and more vigorous in the winter.
There is an audio
clip of the song on the RSPB website.
 |
| Robin Singing [Source: nl.wikipedia] |
Robins
are one of the birds that takes part in the famous spring “dawn
chorus,” surely one of the greatest wildlife events in the UK,
alongside blackbirds, song thrushes, wren, greenfinches, and great
tits.
Take a moment to listen to a wonderful clip of the dawn chorus.
Robins
in the Garden
Robins prefer a mix of dense vegetation and open areas, for example woodland, parks, forest edge or, very frequently, our own gardens.
Robins
are wary but not shy. Chaucer called it the ‘tame ruddock.’
They’re known for following gardeners around and grabbing unearthed
worms.
Robins
hunt from a perch, standing very still. They eat worms, beetles,
snails and flies. A common, and iconic, perch for a robin in the
garden is a spade handle!
Robins
particularly like mealworms and if offered in the garden will even,
after time, take these from an outstretched hand.
_with_mealworm.jpeg) |
| Robin with Mealworm [Source: Philip Heron] |
In
winter, the robin will also eat elder, bramble and rowan berries and
some seeds, so they can become a common sight at bird feeders too.
They can develop a sweet tooth, taking cake, especially fruit cake,
and uncooked pastry.3
If
eating from a bird feeder, robins will sometimes take the seeds while
hovering like hummingbird, rather than landing on the feeder’s
perch. Watch an amazing slo-mo
video of this.
Robins
take a particular dislike for blue tits, coal tits and dunnocks in
the garden, which they chase away from food.
Territories
and Mating
The
robin is extremely territorial and guards a territory all year round.
Unusually, it is one of the few birds that takes up a territory even
during the winter.
During
the winter, both male and female will hold individual territories,
with the female traveling farthest to establish hers. Robin fights
and scuffles become common as winter approaches and the males,
females, and fledged young all compete for their territory. You can watch a sobering video of a robin fight.
Robins
have elaborate courtship displays. The female will ‘beg’ for food
and the male bring it to her. You can also watch a
video of this.
By
January, robins have started to pair up. They will remain together
until the moult the next autumn.4
The
robin starts to nest in March and the first eggs appear in April. The
female builds the nest, using leaves, moss and grass. Robins nest in
a variety of places, usually close to the ground, where there is a
crevice, such as a hollow stump or a bank. They have also found man
made objects convenient for nesting, including shelves, wall
crevices, watering cans and boots.
Robins
have 4-6 eggs, incubated by the female for about 13 days. Both
parents feed the young, unless the female starts another brood in
which case the male continues alone. The young robins start to fly
after about 13 days and become completely independent 16-24 days
after that.
 |
| Robin Chicks [Source: Tom Oates, 2009] |
Adults
moult once a year between June and Sept. The moult is one of the few
times in the year when robins become more shy and retiring and their
song is rarely heard. In July/August, during the moult, robins can be
seen resting on branches with heads drooped, apparently nodding off.
Robins
in Folklore
In
medieval English, robins were called “ruddocks,” related to the
word ruddy or red. The name robin came later, from Old French.5
Other
names for the robin are bob robin, bobby, cock robin, ploughman’s
bird, redbreast, robinet, robin ruck, ruddock, tommy-liden.
St
Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow, is said to have revived a robin
that was killed by his fellow students. For this reason a robin
appears on the Glasgow coat of arms.
In
English folklore, the robin is married to the wren - Cock Robin and
Jenny Wren. Perhaps this is because they are the two birds most often
seen on their own in the garden.
At the break of day,
And went to Jenny's window
To sing a
roundelay.
(Anon)
There
is a famous nursery rhyme ‘Who
Killed Cock Robin’ in which all the other birds help to
orgainse the robin’s funeral:
Wordsworth’s
poem ‘The
Redbreast and the Butterfly’ asks how the robin can chase
another of nature’s beautiful creatures, the butterfly:
What
ail'd thee Robin that thou could'st pursue
A beautiful Creature,
That is gentle by nature?
Beneath the summer sky
From flower to flower let him fly;
'Tis all that he wishes to do.
A beautiful Creature,
That is gentle by nature?
Beneath the summer sky
From flower to flower let him fly;
'Tis all that he wishes to do.
The
robin’s association with Christmas began in Victorian times when postmen wore red waistcoats and were nicknamed ‘robins.’ Images
on Christmas cards showed robins bringing letters. They have remained
a Christmas card fixture ever since.
Strange
but true...
Robins
will sing all through the night in streetlit areas. This can lead
to them being mistaken for nightingales. No-one knows for sure why
robins in particular do this, but it is thought that they may be
especially sensitive to the light. The BBC has a
video of night-singing robins.
1http://my.opera.com/Ukwildlife/blog/britains-most-common-bird
2http://www.artfullbirds.com/Old%20World%20Flycatchers.html
3http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/robin.htm
4http://www.garden-birds.co.uk/birds/robin.htm
5http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/robin
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