European Robin

Identification

A compact, round-bodied chat of 12.5–14 cm, the European Robin is defined by the orange-red shield that covers its face and breast, edged below with a soft grey fringe and set against olive-brown upperparts and a white belly. Males and females are identical; only juveniles lack the red, staying fully mottled brown until their first moult. The red covers the face as well as the breast, which together with the large dark eye and thin dark bill separates it from the bigger, grey-backed American Robin.

Robins are aggressively territorial for a bird that looks so approachable, and both sexes hold and defend a territory through the winter — which is why the song, a thin quivering warble ending in a wistful descending phrase, is heard in autumn and on mild winter nights, often the last voice singing under streetlights. They feed on or near the ground, taking insects, spiders, worms and berries, and quickly learn that a digging fork means exposed food; birds have been watched following gardeners, and even wild boar, for turned soil.

They are unusually tame and will often hop within a metre or two of a motionless observer, so the best approach is simply to stand quietly beside a hedgerow, compost heap or freshly dug bed, especially on cold mornings when food is short. Mealworm feeders and any turned ground are reliable from October through March.