Robin

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A robin sat in a tree looking out for any danger or food
Robin red breasts are familiar garden creatures that are very inquisitive and friendly. They are in the bird family old world flycatchers and chats and have the scientific name Erithacus rubecula. They are considered as many peoples favourite bird and are especially associated with Christmas. There is no difference between the males and the females in the species but the young look different to the adults as they don’t have the distinctive red breast but are spotted golden brown instead. They sing throughout the year and at night sing next to street lights. They do have an aggressive temperament when it comes to territory in order to drive away intruders. The robins diet consists of worms, seeds, fruits, insects and other invertebrates.

Robins usually locate their nests on or near the ground in small nooks and crannies, climbing plants or tree roots and any other areas they can find that contain a fully concealed cavity. Robins will pretty much nest anywhere and have even been known to nest in kettles, boots and in coat pockets. The females do all of the building of the nests. They make them into a cup shape out of moss and leaves then lined with hair. The males role is to provide food for the female during the nest building process and carry it on during the egg laying process. Robins typically have 4-6 eggs and lay one a day early in the morning. Disturbance during the nest building and egg laying process could lead to robins deserting their nests due to fear of it have being discovered. After fledging, the young are cared for by their parents for up to 3 weeks, during which the male takes on most of the care whilst the female gets ready for her next nesting period. Most commonly robins have 2 broods a year but it is not uncommon for, in a good year, them to have 3 or maybe 4 broods. Due to these multiple broods, the breeding season in long and nestlings can be found until midsummer months. Around 57% of the eggs from completed clutches result in fledglings which means there is a high number of losses each breading year.
A robin caught during a ringing session
Typically, robins only live a couple of years but, just like in ever species, there have been anomalies to this. The oldest known wild robin was 11 years and 5 months old! There are quite high levels of mortality within the robin species. From one year the the next only around 40% of fledged birds survive. However, the population has compensated for this by being highly productive and therefore the robin population has increased since the 1970s by 45%. Causes of the high mortality level robins face is mostly due to winter months and cold weather. During one cold winter night a robin can use up to 10% of its body weight to keep warm and if it can not replace what it has lost by eating well during the day, then a long cold spell could be fatal. In order to help robins, you can place birdtables in your gardens and put all of the robins favourite food on them such as mealworms, cheese, fats, or meaty kitchen scraps.





  

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