page_title: American robin
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: American robin / Behavior / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken in Toronto, Canada. A fledgling was sitting by him/herself. The parent flew to them in the tree it was perching in.
context_page_description: The American robin is a migratory songbird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast. It is the state bird of Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
  According to some sources, the American robin ranks behind only the red-winged blackbird as the most abundant extant land bird in North America. It has seven subspecies, but only one of them, the San Lucas robin of Baja California Sur, is particularly distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts.
  The American robin is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates, fruits, and berries. It is one of the earliest bird species to lay its eggs, beginning to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from its winter range.
context_section_description: The American robin begins to breed shortly after returning to its summer range. It is one of the first North American bird species to lay eggs, and normally has two to three broods per breeding season, which lasts from April to July.
  The nest is most commonly located 1.5–4.5 m (4.9–14.8 ft) above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches, and is built by the female alone. The outer foundation consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers. This is lined with smeared mud and cushioned with fine grass or other soft materials. A new nest is built for each brood, and in northern areas the first clutch is usually placed in an evergreen tree or shrub, while later broods are placed in deciduous trees. The American robin does not shy away from nesting close to human habitations and will frequently construct nests under eaves or awnings on human homes when such locations provide adequate shelter. American robins are not cavity nesters, and so will generally not use a bird house, but will take advantage of artificial nesting platforms.
  A clutch consists of three to five light blue eggs, and is incubated by the female alone. The eggs hatch after 14 days, and the chicks leave the nest a further two weeks later. The altricial chicks are naked and have their eyes closed for the first few days after hatching. While the chicks are still young, the mother broods them continuously. When they are older, the mother will brood them only at night or during bad weather.
  
  The chicks are fed earthworms, insects, and berries. Waste accumulation does not occur in the nest because the adults collect and take it away. Chicks are fed, and then raise tails for elimination of waste, a solid white clump that is collected by a parent prior to flying off. All chicks in the brood leave the nest within two days of each other. Even after leaving the nest, the juveniles will follow their parents around and beg for food from them.
   Juveniles become capable of sustained flight two weeks after fledging.
  The adult male and female both are active in protecting and feeding the fledged chicks until they learn to forage on their own. The adult robin gives alarm calls and dives in a threatening manner towards creatures it considers potential predators, such as approaching cats, dogs and humans. The fledglings are able to fly short distances after leaving the nest. The wings of juvenile birds develop rapidly, and it only takes a couple of weeks for them to become proficient at flying. The cryptically colored young birds perch in bushes or trees for protection from predators.
  Bird banders have found that only 25% of young robins survive their first year. The longest known lifespan of an American robin in the wild is 14 years; the average lifespan is about 2 years.
caption: American Robin parent with Fledgling in a tree
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