There is probably some truth in this because huntsmen on the Continent have no compunction about killing small birds for the pot, though the amount of meat on a robin is negligible and it would take several to make a feast. It must therefore have been a native robin that I encountered earlier this year cheekily hopping along a fence at my elbow at a tourist watermill site in Somerset. So bold was this particular bird that I was sure that if I stretched out my hand, it would hop aboard. It didn't in the end. However, gardeners and others who slowly build up a rapport with robins are often rewarded in this way.
Robins feed on a wide variety of insects, as well as worms, berries, and garden titbits.
Up to seven eggs are laid in the nesting season and these are typically white in colour with red spots. During this period, it is the female robin that pursues the male until he decides he wants her after all. Then he courts her by stuffing her with food. Robin Redbreast in a Cage, Puts all Heaven in a Rage. Today, a robin in a cage would put PC Plod in a rage because it's illegal.