American robin

As their name suggests American robins are acquainted with the grounds of America, and are abundantly found in Northern America, and in Central Mexico. Hence, their nam as “North American birds.” You can easily observe them plucking ou earthworms and insects from the ground.

They are the biggest Northern thrushes and a very good foundation to learn about the basic shape of most thrushes. They also play a part in shaping up the populations of other bird species.

The American robin is an early bird. They are famous for their warm orange breast, and cheerful songs. Though American robins are living in peace with humans in city life. But they look more enchanting in wild settings, and so they are also found in Mountain areas, and even in Alaska.

American robin habitat

These birds are common and can be easily spotted in parks, lawns, golf courses, and national parks. In the wild, they can be easily seen in woodlands, deciduous woodlands, forests, treeline areas of the mountains, and in Tundra. In the winter, American robins fly to damp forests where they can easily find berry-producing plants and shrubs. They are easily spottable in Southern Canada, British Columbia, and the US.

American robin diet

American robin’s feed is complex and can include multiple species of invertebrates and nectar. During the summers and spring, they heavily rely on many earthworms, insects, and other invertebrates like snails etc. They rarely go for small snakes, and insects present in water. They eat worms in the morning and more fruit later in the day.

They have multiple food habits , and love to eat berries and multiple varieties of cultivated fruits like chokecherries, hawthornes, sumac fruits, dogwood, and also the juniper berries. Biologists say that they modify their diet by eating those fruits that are infected by the bugs.

American robin behavior

While they are on the ground they hop like three-four times and then they stop suddenly. When they are in long-grass they just fly close to the ground using slow and powerful wingbeats. They also fight with other robin birds to grab the worms which the others have

Both males and females form a knit bond for the breeding season. Like other birds, they are monogamous and like to stay with their partners. These birds breed in the spring when they return to their summer range “north” from the winter range “South.”

The breeding season continues from April-July. American robins are one of the first birds who started laying eggs with one to three eggs at a time. In the fall and the winter, these birds spend their time in large flocks doing roosting prior to the nesting season.

American robin nesting

Nesting is usually done by the females, they choose nest sites to build their nest. The nesting site is normally the horizontal branches which are hidden by the leaves. Though they love to build their nests in the mid-height of the trees, they can also reach the top for their nests.

Other than that, these birds can also build nests in gutters, window ledges, in the building cavities, eaves, and in any other space they find safe for their kids. In addition to this, the American robin can also build its nest even on the ground in a dense bush, however they do so in Western Prairies. In Alaska, they build their nests on the cliffs and buildings.

Females do a very hard job while nest building. They begin from the outer foundation of the nest, which they build by collecting mud and grass and pressing them into a cup-shaped nest with the wrist of each wing. Other nest resources include paper, moss, their own feathers,fine grass and twigs.

When the shape is done, the female american robin forces the mud which she collects from the worm castings to make a strong firm nest. The resulting nest is six or eight inches in width and can be three to six inches in length.

Both of the parents feed their young ones. Males usually fly away with the young ones while females make a second nesting attempt. A new nest has to be formed for every young brood.

Clutch details

Their clutch contains almost three to five eggs. The number of broods ranges from one to three.The size of the egg is around one inch. The incubation period for american robin eggs is twelve to fourteen days.

Their eggs are sky blue in color and can also seem bluish-grey. When eggs hatch the chicks, are helpless and need their parents. They are born naked except for a white bottom.

Bird robin information

1. American robins are capable of breeding and successfully delivering three times in a year. However, only forty percent of nests can actually nurture young ones. Out of these twenty-five percent young chicks survive the harsh winter. Though it is rare, given the conditions any lucky bird can live for up to sixty years. However, the average age of this bird is six years.
2. Though American robins are considered as the announcers of the spring. But some of them may spend their whole winters in their breeding grounds nurturing the young robins. They spend more time roosting in trees than they spend in your backyard.
3. Robins have a round body, long legs, and an elongated tail. Their head is grey with an orange chest. They commonly stand upright with their beaks tilted towards the sky.
4. Robin loves to eat fruits. Sometimes they eat too many fruits like honeysuckle berries, that may even intoxicate them, putting their life at stake.
5. Females make their nests with long coarse grass, mud and feathers.
6. The roosting session of American robins can include a lot of birds. Almost one-fourth million birds form large flocks to the winter grounds for roosting. They spend their whole winter in their breeding range. During the summers, the females remain at the nests with the young birds while males go roosting in dense vegetation.
7. The American robin’s diet varies according to the time of the day and it also depends upon the weather. They spot more worms early in the morning and eat fruits during the day. Robins forage normally on the lawns and pine forests, therefore they are exclusively prone to insecticides and pesticides which may prove fatal for them.
8. Before the nesting season, the flock splits up and goes to northern areas breaking the news of spring.
9. Up till now, the most long-living American robin was thirteen years and eleven years old.

American robin Turdus migratorius

The scientific name of American robin is “Turdus Migratorius.” These are migratory songbirds and named after the European robins because they have the same warm orange underparts. Though the robin bird is not closely related to the former. It belongs to the true “Thrush ” genus. They are also known as red-breasted robins.

Juvenile american robin

Baby bird robins don’t look familiar to their parents. Instead of the warm orange underparts they have a dark-spotty breast during the first summer. Their backs and breast area is covered with buff-speckling. However, as the babies grow up they eventually lose their dark spots and grow into reddish orange breasts. American robins are also known as red robin birds.

After the period of fourteen days, the Juvenile robins become capable of sustained flight. When the babies grow enough the mother only feeds them in the night or in the bad weather. The conservation status for these birds is good as there has been a tremendous increase in the population in recent years.

Only twenty-five percent of the population of the fledged young robins survives till November.

Questions and Answers

What do robins look like?

Robin bird is a small but fluffy bird with a round body. Their bills are black and not too thick. They have thin long legs with a fairly long tail. They do not exhibit sexual dimorphism, which means that you are unable to distinguish between the males and females. However, the females have paler heads and back than males. They have a brown back with reddish orange breast, darker head with black feathers, cheeks, face, and a white patch on lower belly and under their tail feathers. American robins have long, round bodies and long legs. They often go to bird feeders to find food.

Are American robins songbirds?

Robins are North American birds, and they surely can sing. Robins are one of those bird species that sings early in the morning. In May, American robins begin to sing even an hour before the sun rises. Their song consists of rich caroling notes, small mumbled tucks, and cucks. Their alarm calls sound like a sharp shirek or peak which they usually do for domestic cats.

Are American robins territorial?

American robins sometimes depict territorial behavior particularly in the springtime. They isolate themselves on different territories and become very aggressive if any intruder tries to budge in. The males decide the territories while the females help in their maintenance. In winters, they roost in dense vegetation.