Growing up in New England, I tended to view the American Robin (Turdus migratorius) as a harbinger of spring. When the snow had melted, we would often see robins hopping about in the grass, hoping to pull a worm out of the ground.
I now live further south in the United States in Northern Virginia and see robins throughout the year. On Tuesday I spotted a small flock of robins during a walk through my snow-covered neighborhood. Some of them were bathing in a small run-off stream, as I documented in yesterday’s posting, but most of them were foraging in the trees. I believe that they were feeding on the small red berries that you can see in these two images, but I was not able to capture any of them actually consuming one, so that is really just an assumption.
As I have noted before, the American Robin is a completely different species from the European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) that has orange on its breast and face. I was thrilled to photograph a European Robin in November 2019 during a visit to Paris—check out my posting European Robin in Paris if you want to visually compare the two species. It is fascinating to note that the American Robin is shaped exactly like the European Blackbird (Turdus merula)—they share the same vocalizations and belong to the exact same family and genus.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Interesting facts, Mike. I especially like the first photo!
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Thanks, Mitzi. The first photo is definitely the headliner here. 🙂
I was just thinking about Robins.. I long to see one, but of course up here where I am, I have a couple of months to go before I get to spy one.. Thank YOU for offering one today!
Nice images Mike! Can’t wait to see some here!
Great photographs–especially that spectacular first one.
Here in British Columbia’s interior, our first will likely come at the end of this month. With the ground snowy and frozen, they get by from eating those exact berries, or ones just like them on our Mountain Ash trees. They usually arrive in a flock, then the males quickly separate into loudly trilling, territory-claiming bird warriors, chasing out any other Robin intruder(s). Sometimes, because the berries they find are actually so overly ripe they contain ethanol, the Robins walk about disoriented after eating them. And once the ground gets soft, it’s all about mating and worms and nest making (or finding the one from last year still intact). Here, they are very territorial and their loud song begins ridiculously early. Towards September, they are largely silent, still around, but waiting to return to Northern Virginia (smile).
Great pictures! I’m glad you shared the link to the European Robin you spotted before. It was neat to see the differences.
Beautiful bird, totaly different from the robin we know and which is a lot smaller.
So many robins in Houston right now. It must be a rest stop.
I’ve had a few here in League City, but this afternoon at least a couple of hundred showed up in my neighborhood. We don’t often see them here, so it was quite a treat! I grew up with them in Iowa, so being able to see and hear so many again was wonderful. I’ve had one for three weeks or so, eating dried mealworms at the feeders. Now, I suspect he was a ‘scout.’
Word must have gotten around about your “free food.” A couple of hundred is a pretty big flock. I think most of us are happy to see robins, perhaps bringing to mind the old song, “When the red red robin comes bob-bob-bobbin’ along
Or maybe there is a convention. 🙂
Thank you for this interesting information
Living in England I didn’t realize differences
You are welcome, Diana. It is interesting when common bird names are used to refer to completely different birds in different areas of the world.
Why do they do that – is it that they are the same species?
I am not sure how they decide on the names for species. There is a Latin name that is separate and distinct for each species, but the common names vary by region and language for the same species. So for example, a “robin” is known as a “rouge-gorge” (“red breast”) in French.
Thank you Mike
Interesting to see the pronounced white edges on the breast feathers, something I don’t usually see. Perhaps it is a stage that is more visible in winter, prior to molting older feathers?
I didn’t realize you are a New Englander. What state? (I’m in MA)
I am not sure about the white edges on the breast feathers. Maybe they puff them out for insulation when it is really cold. I was born in Boston, grew up mostly in Medford, went to a prep school near Northfield, and college in Williamstown. 🙂
Small world! Then you know my area of western MA very well!
I just read on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that females and immatures are paler than males with more white on the belly and throat. That might account for the difference.
I had a flock visit today, and was noticing differences in the breast feathers. Some were quite solidly red, and some were like the ones in your photo. I wondered if those were ‘first year’ birds, or if it was a male/female difference.
I just read on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that females and immatures are paler than males with more white on the belly and throat.
American robins are thrushes, and there is a related New Zealand native, Turdus merula, that we see frequently in our garden. It doesn’t have the orange breast, but its size and song are very close. We love to see them. Every time I hear one’s call, I’m reminded of our old robins.
That’s interesting, Gary, because I recognized the Latin name as the same one as the Eurasian Blackbird. A little research revealed, as I suspected, that this species was introduced into NZ, beginning in 1862, and now is widely distributed. I saw a few blackbirds in France in 2019 and my first thought was that they looked just like our robins, minus the orange breast, of course.
How is it that I never noticed the white edges on the orange breast feathers before?
Someone else asked the same thing, Nina. I don’t know if it’s because the feathers were fluffed up because it was cold or perhaps because it seems to be either an immature male or female.
Stunning photos
Thanks.