S P E C I E S L I S T
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) standing on a broom in the garden
The European robin (Erithacus rubecula), most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird, specifically a chat, that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now considered to be an Old World flycatcher. Around 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upperparts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north.
The term robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (Turdus migratorius), which is a thrush, and the Australian red robins of the genus Petroica, members of a family whose relationships are unclear.
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) standing in the snow
Taxonomy and systematics
The European robin was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, under the name of Motacilla rubecula.[2] Its specific epithet rubecula is a diminutive derived from the Latin ruber ‘red’.[3] The genus Erithacus was created by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800, giving the bird its current binomial name of E. rubecula.[4]
The distinctive orange breast of both sexes contributed to the European robin’s original name of redbreast (orange as the name of a colour was unknown in English until the sixteenth century, by which time the fruit of that name had been introduced). In the fifteenth century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to robin.[5] Other older English names for the bird include ruddock and robinet. In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English robin.[6] The Frisian robyntsje or robynderke is similar to the English name,[7] while Dutch roodborstje and French rouge-gorge both refer to the distinctively coloured front.[8] In German the bird is called “Rotkehlchen”, literally a diminutive of “Red Throat”.
The robin belongs to a group of mainly insectivorous birds that have been variously assigned to the thrushes or “flycatchers“, depending on how these groups were perceived taxonomically. Eventually, the flycatcher-thrush assemblage was re-analysed and the genus Erithacus assigned to a group of thrush-like true flycatchers, the tribe Saxicolini, that also includes the common nightingale and the Old World chats.[9]
Two Eastern Palearctic species are usually placed in the genus Erithacus, the Japanese robin (E. akahige) and the Ryūkyū robin (E. komadori), the latter being a restricted-range island species. Biogeography and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicate that these might better be classified with some Far Eastern “nightingales”, leaving only the European species in Erithacus.[10]
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) whistling on a perch
Taxonomy and systematics
The European robin was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his 18th century work, Systema Naturae, under the name of Motacilla rubecula.[2] Its specific epithet rubecula is a diminutive derived from the Latin ruber ‘red’.[3] The genus Erithacus was created by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1800, giving the bird its current binomial name of E. rubecula.[4]
The distinctive orange breast of both sexes contributed to the European robin’s original name of redbreast (orange as the name of a colour was unknown in English until the sixteenth century, by which time the fruit of that name had been introduced). In the fifteenth century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to robin.[5] Other older English names for the bird include ruddock and robinet. In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English robin.[6] The Frisian robyntsje or robynderke is similar to the English name,[7] while Dutch roodborstje and French rouge-gorge both refer to the distinctively coloured front.[8] In German the bird is called “Rotkehlchen”, literally a diminutive of “Red Throat”.
The robin belongs to a group of mainly insectivorous birds that have been variously assigned to the thrushes or “flycatchers“, depending on how these groups were perceived taxonomically. Eventually, the flycatcher-thrush assemblage was re-analysed and the genus Erithacus assigned to a group of thrush-like true flycatchers, the tribe Saxicolini, that also includes the common nightingale and the Old World chats.[9]
Two Eastern Palearctic species are usually placed in the genus Erithacus, the Japanese robin (E. akahige) and the Ryūkyū robin (E. komadori), the latter being a restricted-range island species. Biogeography and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data indicate that these might better be classified with some Far Eastern “nightingales”, leaving only the European species in Erithacus.[10]
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) standing in the snow
Description
The adult European robin is 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) long and weighs 16–22 g (9/16–13/16 oz), with a wingspan of 20–22 cm (8–9 in). The male and female bear similar plumage; an orange breast and face (more strongly coloured in the otherwise similar British subspecies E. r. melophilus), lined by a bluish grey on the sides of the neck and chest. The upperparts are brownish, or olive-tinged in British birds, and the belly whitish, while the legs and feet are brown. The bill and eyes are black. Juveniles are a spotted brown and white in colouration, with patches of orange gradually appearing.[21]
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) standing on a broom in the garden
Distribution and habitat
The robin occurs in Eurasia east to Western Siberia, south to Algeria and on the Atlantic islands as far west as the Azores and Madeira. It is not found in Iceland.[21] In the south east, it reaches the Caucasus range. British robins are largely resident but a small minority, usually female, migrate to southern Europe during winter, a few as far as Spain. Scandinavian and Russian robins migrate to Britain and western Europe to escape the harsher winters. These migrants can be recognised by the greyer tone of the upper parts of their bodies and duller orange breast. The European robin prefers spruce woods in northern Europe, contrasting with its preference for parks and gardens in the British Isles.[22]
Attempts to introduce the European robin into Australia and New Zealand in the latter part of the 19th century were unsuccessful. Birds were released around Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Dunedin by various local Acclimatisation societies, with none becoming established. There was a similar outcome in North America as birds failed to establish after being released in Long Island, New York in 1852, Oregon in 1889–92, and the Saanich Peninsula in British Columbia in 1908–10.[23]
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) standing in the snow
Behaviour and ecology
The robin is diurnal, although has been reported to be active hunting insects on moonlit nights or near artificial light at night.[12] Well known to British and Irish gardeners, it is relatively unafraid of people and drawn to human activities involving the digging of soil, in order to look out for earthworms and other food freshly turned up. Indeed, the robin is considered to be a gardener’s friend and for various folklore reasons the robin would never be harmed. In continental Europe on the other hand, robins were hunted and killed as with most other small birds, and are more wary.[21] Robins also approach large wild animals, such as wild boar and other animals which disturb the ground, to look for any food that might be brought to the surface. In autumn and winter, robins will supplement their usual diet of terrestrial invertebrates, such as spiders, worms and insects, with berries and fruit.[22] They will also eat seed mixtures placed on bird-tables.[21]
Male robins are noted for their highly aggressive territorial behaviour. They will attack other males that stray into their territories, and have been observed attacking other small birds without apparent provocation. Such attacks sometimes lead to fatalities, accounting for up to 10% of adult robin deaths in some areas.[24]
Because of high mortality in the first year of life, a robin has an average life expectancy of 1.1 years; however, once past its first year it can expect to live longer and one robin has been recorded as reaching 12 years of age.[25] A spell of very low temperatures in winter may also result in significant mortality.[24] This species is parasitised by the moorhen flea, Dasypsyllus gallinulae[26]
Young Robin (Erithacus rubecula) sitting on a tire
Young Robin (Erithacus rubecula) sitting on log
Breeding
The robin has a fluting, warbling 
song (help·info) in the breeding season, when they often sing into the evening, and sometimes into the night, leading some to confuse them with the common nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos). Nocturnal singing in urban robins occurs in places that are noisy during the day, suggesting that they sing at night because it is quieter, and their message can propagate through the environment more clearly. Daytime noise outperformed night-time light pollution as a predictor of nocturnal singing activity in urban robins in Sheffield, England.[28] Both the male and female sing during the winter, when they hold separate territories, the song then sounding more plaintive than the summer version.[21] The female robin moves a short distance from the summer nesting territory to a nearby area that is more suitable for winter feeding. The male robin keeps the same territory throughout the year.
Magnetoreception
The avian magnetic compass of the robin has been extensively researched and uses Vision-Based Magnetoreception, in which the robin’s ability to sense the magnetic field of the earth for navigation is affected by the light entering the bird’s eye. The physical mechanism of the robin’s magnetic sense is not fully understood, but may involve quantum entanglement of electron spins.[29]
Young Robin (Erithacus rubecula) sitting on log
Cultural depictions
The robin features prominently in British folklore, and that of northwestern France, but much less so in other parts of Europe.[30] It was held to be a storm-cloud bird and sacred to Thor, the god of thunder, in Norse mythology.[31] Robins also feature in the traditional children’s tale, Babes in the Wood; the birds cover the dead bodies of the children.[32] More recently, the robin has become strongly associated with Christmas, taking a starring role on many Christmas cards since the mid 19th century.[32] The robin has also appeared on many Christmas postage stamps. An old British folk tale seeks to explain the robin’s distinctive breast. Legend has it that when Jesus was dying on the cross, the robin, then simply brown in colour, flew to his side and sang into his ear in order to comfort him in his pain. The blood from his wounds stained the robin’s breast, and thereafter all robins got the mark of Christ’s blood upon them.[31][33] An alternative legend has it that its breast was scorched fetching water for souls in Purgatory.[32] The association with Christmas, however, more probably arises from the fact that postmen in Victorian Britain wore red jackets and were nicknamed “Robins”; the robin featured on the Christmas card is an emblem of the postman delivering the card.[34]
In the 1960s, in a vote publicised by The Times newspaper, the robin was adopted as the unofficial national bird of the UK.[35] The robin was then used as a symbol of a Bird Protection Society.[36][dead link]
Several English and Welsh sports organisations are nicknamed “The Robins”. These include the professional football clubs Bristol City, Swindon Town, Cheltenham Town (whose home colours are red) and, traditionally, Wrexham FC, as well as the English Rugby League team Hull Kingston Rovers (whose home colours are white with a red band).[37] A small bird is an unusual choice, though it is thought to symbolise agility in darting around the field.[38] Moreover, the Swindon Robins is the full name of the local Speedway promotion.
Lego Ideas released a birds set on January 1 2015, which includes a robin.