Talk:European robin

message: Does the last sentence mean that the Robin is a member of Erithacus rubecula, or not? -- Zoe
Hi Zoe, do you mean the binomial classification?  If so, that's just the scientific name of the bird, and in this case that's the genus (Erithacus) and species (rubecula).  Take a look at the entry for WikiProject Tree of Life. -- Ramin
::What I'm saying is the last sentence seems a non-sequitur.  You never said until then that a Robin IS a member of Erithacus rubecula.  I GUESS it means that it IS one, but I'm not sure.  Please be more specific.  -- Zoe
:::The European Robin is Erithacus rubecula. As previously stated, that's its scientific name. However, it's a member of the genus Erithacus. --Evice 22:48, 18 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Postage stamp image has been moved off this page for months now. Snowman 14:23, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Question

message: I have added the word 'unofficial' before 'national bird of Britain'. This is supported by the following information from the proceedings of the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Culture Committee, 31 October 2006:
"Despite some assertions to the contrary, it seems that the United Kingdom does not have an official national bird. The European Robin (erithacus rubecula) is frequently listed as Britain’s most popular bird, and is a favourite for use on items such as postage stamps, however it has never been submitted to an official process of recognition and has at no point received UK parliamentary support.
"Having said this, the European Robin has previously been promoted as the “national bird” by the British branch of the International Council for Bird Preservation (ICBP). In October 1960, responding to a resolution from the ICBP, its chairman wrote a letter to The Times asking for the views of readers on the subject of choosing of a bird for Britain. After reviewing readership response, the Robin was deemed to be overwhelmingly the most popular UK bird with all sections of the community. In accordance with the perceived public will, the British branch of the ICBP sought for the Robin to be adopted as the “Bird for Britain”, and the organisation itself began to use the Robin as its official logo. Despite initial public interest, the European Robin was never submitted for recognition as the UK’s official national bird, and no branches of government became involved in its promotion as a national symbol. After continuing to represent the British branch of the ICBP for some years, it seems that the Robin was ultimately dropped from use." Russ London 10:40, 10 December 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Above has a brief mention in the artical page. Snowman 00:39, 19 December 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: The Robin in culture

message: Is Erithacus rubecula witherbyi named for Harry Witherby? If so, I'd like to mention that on his page. Andy Mabbett 18:36, 24 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Harry Witherby's Robin? 

message: "European Robins and similar small European species are often called chats."
Are they?  I've never ever heard a robin referred to as a chat; indeed, I've never heard them called anything other than 'robins'.  Who calls them chats?  Scientists?  In what context?  What's the source? This should be made clear. 86.153.216.204 13:48, 25 June 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Chats

message: Does anyone know the source for calling a robin a flycatcher? In Birds of the Western Palearctic (2004) it is classified with 'Thrushes, chats' and not with  'Old world flycatchers'. The Tutor (talk) 22:28, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Thrush/chat or flycatcher 

message: This article's Good Article promotion has been put on hold. During review, some issues were discovered that can be resolved without a major re-write.  This is how the article, as of May 12, 2008, compares against the  six good article criteria:
:1. Well written?: Generallu yes, but see below.
:2. Factually accurate?: Some paragraphs are without citations (See second and third paragraphs in 'Subspecies', second paragraph in 'Behaviour')
:3. Broad in coverage?: yes
:4. Neutral point of view?: no problem
:5. Article stability? stable
:6. Images?: Ok
Please address these matters soon and then leave a note here showing how they have been resolved.  After 48 hours the article should be reviewed again.  If these issues are not addressed within 7 days, the article may be failed without further notice.  Thank you for your work so far. Ruslik (talk) 08:19, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I added 'fact' tags. Ruslik (talk) 09:23, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I saw. Good, gives me an idea of which salient points to address first. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 10:23, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

text: Only one 'fact' template remains (after the first paragraph in the first section). Ruslik (talk) 07:50, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I've added the Cuvier ref, copyedited esp for consistency in spelling conventions, and tweaked a bit Jimfbleak (talk) 08:46, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I am waiting for the resolution of the issue number 5. Ruslik (talk) 13:33, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I have been reading more. They are very similar and I am just trying to figure out how to word it from my sources. frustrating :( Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 13:42, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  OK, I have tweaked it so it discusses both subspecies together as they are very similar - thus we have the nominate and the anglophone there together. I have found the German page vey informative and will try to incorporate some (inline referenced) material too. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 14:04, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Ok. I will list it. Ruslik (talk) 05:31, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thanks. I have found a little bit more but not 'core' info. Am planning to take it to FAC if'n I can get a hold of this book......Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:35, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Good article nomination on hold

message: Nearly there (I think). Having trouble with one reference (which I will comment out possibly) and musing on how to address point 5, as all books I have are mainly british. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 06:40, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: Only one 'fact' template remains (after the first paragraph in the first section). Ruslik (talk) 07:50, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I've added the Cuvier ref, copyedited esp for consistency in spelling conventions, and tweaked a bit Jimfbleak (talk) 08:46, 17 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I am waiting for the resolution of the issue number 5. Ruslik (talk) 13:33, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  I have been reading more. They are very similar and I am just trying to figure out how to word it from my sources. frustrating :( Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 13:42, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  OK, I have tweaked it so it discusses both subspecies together as they are very similar - thus we have the nominate and the anglophone there together. I have found the German page vey informative and will try to incorporate some (inline referenced) material too. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 14:04, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Ok. I will list it. Ruslik (talk) 05:31, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  Thanks. I have found a little bit more but not 'core' info. Am planning to take it to FAC if'n I can get a hold of this book......Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:35, 19 May 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Update

message: Article reads: and have been observed attacking other small birds without apparent provocation. Such attacks sometimes lead to fatalities, accounting for up to 10% of adult bird deaths in some areas  Juxtaposing the concept of attacks on other species with a sentence using just the generic term 'bird' made me misinterpret this as "Robins are responsible for 10% of all adult bird deaths" (implying all species), on my first visit. I checked the cited source and the wording there is far less ambiguous about it being 10% of adult robins. I intend to edit this but will await page stability with regard to  one of the above debates first. EatYerGreens (talk) 15:58, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: You're right. I have edited it (clumsily) to correct the factual error. Perhaps you can do some better wording. SNALWIBMA ( talk - contribs ) 16:06, 3 June 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Behaviour section 

message: I don't mean to fan flames, but Francis Hodgkin Burnett (a British writer) also used English robin a lot. (e.g. My Robin, and it also appears in The Secret Garden. It's probably a Victorianism now, but it doesn't seem to have been merely American. Shoemaker's Holiday (talk) 17:55, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: I think this has been pretty well discussed, above, and indeed both those sources were mentioned. In My Robin, it's clear from the start of the text that it's a case of finding an adjective to distinguish the European species from the American, and, for an English writer at that date, the obvious word is English. So she says "An English robin differs greatly from the American one".  The story is called "My Robin", not "My English Robin". English is not part of the bird's name. SNALWIBMA ( talk - contribs ) 18:16, 14 April 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: My tuppenceworth - I'm English, nearing 50 and I've never heard it called  the 'English robin'.  It's just the robin, pure and simple.  On another subject: there is a lovely illustration of a robin in the early 15th century  Sherborne Missal  (from Sherborne Abbey, now held in the British Library), which is annotated 'ruddocke'.  Should a 'common names' section be added to the article? 86.133.208.193 (talk) 10:06, 2 February 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  English robin 

message: The map picture on the page, referring to the robin distribution I believe, should be corrected. According to it, the robin is not found across Portugal, when in fact is pretty common in the north of the country. 
This source: http://www.avesdeportugal.info/erirub.html, confirms it as being abundant to the north, adding that it can be seen in the center of the country as well (this part including the already 'green painted' area). 
Is there anyway to update the map picture to correct this? I don't mind doing it myself, but I'm not sure how the licensing works, and whether I'm allowed the tamper with the image in question.
Thanks in advance.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.80.45.6 (talk) 11:30, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: You can do anything you like to the image, as long as you keep the same licence. You can upload modified version  either as a new version of the same image (same file name), or under a different name. Jimfbleak -  talk to me? 10:53, 9 November 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Map Location 

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:Rouge gorge familier - crop (WB correction).jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on December 23, 2013. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2013-12-23. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 23:39, 1 December 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[:File:Rouge gorge familier - crop (WB correction).jpg]] to appear as POTD 

message: Seems to be no mention of this, the vote was decided yesterday and is mentioned quite heavily in the British press. Can't add the update due to the article being locked. 82.34.106.120 (talk) 17:32, 11 June 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: It's not official by any means, although it did get a lot of press coverage, so I've added it with a reference. Keith the Koala (talk) 14:30, 13 June 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Now the official national bird of the UK 

message: NOT just 'simply the robin' as some have weirdly been proclaiming on the talkpage. Sigh.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:C7D:411:1600:226:8FF:FEDC:FD74 (talk) 02:00, 1 August 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  Also known as the: robin redbreast in Britain 

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:Erithacus rubecula with cocked head.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on December 13, 2016. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2016-12-13. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page.  — Chris Woodrich (talk) 07:28, 26 November 2016 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[:File:Erithacus rubecula with cocked head.jpg]] to appear as POTD soon 

message: I've noticed this statement in the 'Behaviour' section for some years and am very surprised it has not been changed or redacted:
"Indeed, the robin is considered to be a gardener's friend and for various folklore reasons the robin would never be harmed. In continental Europe on the other hand, robins were hunted and killed as with most other small birds, and are more wary.[26]"
As any European-based birder will know from first-hand experience, robins behave in very much the same way in gardens here as they do in the UK and Ireland. Here in France, I've also seen references to the robin as the 'hunter's friend'. Such a bold and damning statement, made on the basis of one RSPB (i.e. British) book, seems to me to be the product of chauvinist sentiment alone. I will try to find some Wiki-suitable citation if necessary, but really, this sentence (the last of the two, above) should just be removed.
Glaciare (talk) 13:26, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Glaciare, I understand your point, but be careful not to make the same error, if it is, in reverse. Europe is a big place, and I suspect that the treatment of Robins in Malta or Cyprus may not be the same as in the Netherlands or Denmark. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 13:50, 9 March 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Jimfbleak Thanks for your reply. I take your point, but it actually reinforces my own, I think; one cannot extrapolate from the hunting behaviour of two islands to the whole population of Europe (and even in Malta, apparently, the younger generations are changing their ways, so we must beware of out-of-date information). Certainly in France - and I suspect other mainland countries where hunting has been popular - it has rarely been indiscriminate in terms of species. Moreover, robins are wary in the UK in summer and less shy in winter, just as they are everywhere else; the Collins Guide states as much in both the English and French versions, so even this part of the statement makes no sense (and it would be a huge stretch to claim wholesale 'wariness' as a product of past hunting anyway). In other words, the statement is sweeping, inaccurate and nonsensical and - to most Europeans, I would think - quite offensive. It's also not based on anything more than one British author's opinion. As such, I would think it has no place in a Wikipedia article. If no-one can come up with a reasonable rewording, I will delete it in the coming days. Glaciare (talk) 13:14, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
replies: text: Glaciare, I've no problem with that, just wanted to make sure that it wasn't replaced by another sweeping statement. In your edit summary, refer to this talk page so it's clear it's not a random removal of referenced content Jimfbleak - talk to me? 15:51, 11 March 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  Treatment in mainland Europe 

message: Hello fellow Wikipedians,
I have just modified 2 external links on European robin. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120127212257/http://hullkr.co.uk/history to http://hullkr.co.uk/history
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20050830191437/http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/robin.htm to http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/robin.htm
*Added  tag to http://www.sr.se/p2/p2pippi/sounds/pip0504.ram
When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.
Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 06:02, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links modified 

message: Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that :File:European robin (Erithacus rubecula) juvenile.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on May 22, 2018. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2018-05-22. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 00:20, 22 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  [[:File:European robin (Erithacus rubecula) juvenile.jpg]] to appear as POTD soon