Young birds eat mainly insects, as do the young of most birds. The parents can be seen hopping about lawns and meadows in search of beetles, weevils, ants, grasshoppers, and, particularly, earthworms and grubs. Contrary to what observers have often believed, robins locate earthworms by sight, not by sound, even though the birds cock their heads in a manner that resembles intense listening. When the last brood of the summer has been reared, robins change their habits and haunts. Their cheerful songs are rarely heard now, and they begin to assemble into flocks searching for wild fruits.
Robins are thus important distributors and planters of many of our wild fruits.
Also at this time, they start to congregate and roost at night. By August birds in these roosts may number in the thousands as they prepare for their southward migrations. In the Mountain State, however, these large flocks are rather rare, and the fall migration is somewhat inconspicuous. They disappear quietly from our yards and orchards, going into the deeper, more remote woods. In October they begin to move southward, although many remain in the state.