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European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) — photo 1 of 5
© Francis C. Franklin CC BY-SA 3.0

Flycatchers and chats · Perching birds

European Robin

Erithacus rubecula

Year-round

Voice

Song

Benoît Van Hecke

0:19

Alarm

Hannu Varkki

0:45

Call

Sonothèque ADVL

0:16

How to recognize it

  • Small, long-legged

  • Brown upperparts; orange-red face and breast

  • Whitish belly; black bill and eyes

  • Often forages on the ground, lets people approach

About the species

The European Robin is a small, familiar garden-and-woodland singer. Its warm orange-red face and breast give it a clear, tidy look, while the rest of the body stays much quieter in tone.

It spends a lot of time low down, walking and searching on the ground. Both sexes sing, and the song is bright and ringing; males start early in the morning and may still sing at dusk.

It likes damp broadleaf and mixed woods with thick undergrowth, as well as parks and overgrown gardens, especially near water. It feeds on insects, worms, and snails, then adds berries in autumn and visits feeders in winter.

Did you know?

  • Underfoot of boar and gardener

    A forest robin runs between the hooves of deer and boars, snatching insects they turn up with snout and hoof — the same habit brings it underfoot to a gardener with a spade.

  • Hunting by street lamp

    Robins extend their hunting past sunset by working around street lamps and snatching moths drawn to lighted windows, foraging by artificial light all year round.

  • Price of being famous

    In Britain the robin is painted on Christmas cards and fed year-round; the constant attention has left the birds with no fear of people at all and more and more of them end up in the jaws of household cats.

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