American Robin

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.

## Subspecies

Seven subspecies of American robin haven been recognized

1. **Eastern robin** (*T. m. migratorius*), the nominate subspecies
2. **Newfoundland robin** (*T. m. nigrideus*)
3. **Southern robin** (*T. m. achrusterus*)
4. **Northwestern robin** (*T. m. caurinus*)
5. **Western robin** (*T. m. propinquus*)
6. **San Lucas robin** (*T. m. confinis*)
7. **Mexican robin** (*T. m. phillipsi*)

## Vocalisations

The male American robin, as with many thrushes, has a complex and almost continuous song. It is commonly described as a *cheery* carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between.

The song varies regionally, and its style varies by the time of day. The song period is from late February or early March to late July or early August; some birds, particularly in the east, sing occasionally into September or later. They are often among the first songbirds to sing as dawn rises or hours before, and last as evening sets in.

The American robin also sings when storms approach and again when storms have passed. In addition to its song, the species has a number of calls used for communicating specific information, such as when a ground predator approaches and when a nest or another American robin is being directly threatened. Even during nesting season, when they exhibit mostly competitive and territorial behavior, they may still band together to drive away a predator.

## Habitat

The American robin breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico. While robins occasionally overwinter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, Most depart south by the end of August and begin to return north in February and March (exact dates vary with latitude and climate). The distance by which robins migrate varies significantly depending on their initial habitat; a study found that individual robins tagged in Alaska are known to travel as much as 3.5x further across seasons than robins tagged in Massachusetts.

## Diet

The American robin's diet generally consists of around 40 percent small invertebrates (mainly insects), such as earthworms, beetle grub, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, and 60 percent wild and cultivated fruits and berries. Robins forage primarily on the ground for soft-bodied invertebrates, and find worms by sight (and sometimes by hearing), pouncing on them and then pulling them up.

The American robin uses auditory, visual, olfactory and possibly vibrotactile cues to find prey, but vision is the predominant mode of prey detection. It is frequently seen running across lawns picking up earthworms, and its *running and stopping* behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. In addition to hunting visually, it also has the ability to hunt by hearing. Experiments have discovered that it can find earthworms underground by simply using its listening skills. It typically will take several short hops and then cock its head left, right or forward to detect movement of its prey. In urban areas, robins will gather in numbers soon after lawns are mowed or where sprinklers are in use.

## Breeding

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 clutch consists of three to five cyan eggs and is incubated by the female. Once hatched, 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.

## In popular culture

The American robin is the state bird of Connecticut, Michiagan, Wisconsin. It is also featured on the Canadian 2 dollar note.

American Robins are featured in Native American mythology. The story of how the robin got its red breast by fanning the dying flames of a campfire to save a Native American man and a boy is similar to those that surround the European robin.

The DC superhero Robin is named after the bird and even the famous bandit, Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest is named after it

## Gallery

### Films

Charlotte’s Web (1973)Bambi (1942)Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019)Mary Poppins (1964)The Little Bear Movie (2001)Wild Wings (1996)So Dear to My Heart (1948)Melody Time (1948)Nature's Half Acre (1951)Lost in the Woods (2005)
### TV Shows

The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That! (2010)My Gym Partner's A Monkey (2005-2008)VeggieTales (1993-2015)Creature Comforts (2003-2007)Wild Kratts (2011-)The Magic School Bus (1994-1997)Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (2004-2009)Krypto the Superdog (2005-2006)Arthur (1996-2022)The Simpsons (1989-)Really Wild Animals (1993-1998)Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993-1998)Elmo's World (1998-present)Kratts' Creatures (1996)Land of the Eagle (1991)Planet Earth (2006)The Most Extreme (2002-2007)The Mating Game (2021)The Bandit and the Builder (1993)Wild America (1982-1994)Clash: Encounters of Bears and Wolves (2010)Wild River No More (1993)The Falcon and the Hawk (1986)Great Migrations (2010)Hero Elementary (2020)Elinor Wonders Why (2020)Nature Cat (2014)Alma's Way (2021)Braingames (1983-1985)Wildlife on One (1977-2005)Pale Male (2004)Still Waters (1979)Jet Set Wildlife (1984)Life in Cold Blood (2008)The Wonder Pets (2006-2013)Wild Animal Baby Explorers (2010-2012)Baby Animals Around The World (2016)The Million Pound Bird Book (1985)America's Wild Seasons (2019)Baby Animals in the Wild (2015)Wild Guess (1988)Teen Titans Go! Robin.pngTeen Titans Go! (2013-)Aerial America (2010-2019)