Flycatchers and chats · Perching birds
European Robin
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Erithacus rubecula
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Voice
Song
Alarm
Call
How to recognize it
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13–14 cm, slightly smaller than a sparrow.
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Orange-red face and breast, with a pale belly.
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Brownish-grey above.
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Clear, easily heard song.
About the species
The European Robin is a small woodland bird with a distinctive orange-red face and breast. Young birds lack the bright orange colouring at first and look darker and more mottled than adults.
On the ground, robins move in short bursts, constantly checking grass and disturbed soil for food.
Males start singing early in the morning and often continue into the evening. Their song is clear and varied. Females can sing too, but usually more quietly and simply. In towns, robins may even sing at night, especially where there is a lot of artificial light.
They are common in deciduous and mixed woodland, parks, and overgrown gardens with dense undergrowth. Damp places near water are especially suitable.
Robins feed mainly on insects, earthworms, and snails, adding berries to their diet in autumn. In the northern parts of their range, many migrate for winter and return among the first birds in spring.
Did you know?
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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.
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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.
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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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Where to find
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Robins favour gardens and mature parks with dense undergrowth. They often stay near damp paths and wet ground, especially after rain, when they come out to search for worms and snails.
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They are also common around ponds, ditches, and small streams where low shrubs grow beside damp banks. Their clear song often gives them away from inside the vegetation.
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In autumn, robins frequently feed on lawns beneath trees and along paths covered with fallen leaves, picking up insects and berries.
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Around homes, they may appear near sheds, greenhouses, and other outbuildings. Some birds become quite comfortable around people and forage almost at their feet.
