American Robin

An American Robin pulling a worm from the ground

Early colonists in North America called this bird “robin” because it has a reddish breast like the European Robin they knew from home. The two species are not closely related.

■ A hunting robin moves in short bursts across the ground—running or hopping forward, then standing upright for a few seconds, often cocking its head to one side. It seems like they are listening for worms. Actually, they are watching the grass and soil for signs of activity, turning their head to aim one eye at the ground (see this page). When they see the signs telling them a worm is near the surface, they lunge forward, stabbing into the soil and gripping the worm in their bill. After a very brief tug-of-war (the robin almost always wins), the worm is pulled out and either swallowed whole or carried back to the nestlings.

An American Robin foraging

■ The robin-like Varied Thrush is common in the moist evergreen forests of western North America, and rarely wanders east as far as the Atlantic coast. Even though it looks similar to a robin, the dark breastband and patterned wings are very distinctive. It finds insects and berries within the forest, only occasionally venturing out onto open lawns.

Varied Thrush

I thought robins were a sign of spring, but a flock just visited my yard in midwinter.

Robins depend on fruit in the winter and, like waxwings (see this page), their winter range is determined largely by the availability of food. The expansion of suburbs and widespread cultivation of exotic fruit trees, along with the recent spread of invasive berry-producing plants (like bittersweet and buckthorn) now means that robins can find winter food much farther north (and a warming climate helps). Robins have benefited from invasive species and human development of the landscape for at least two centuries. Their favorite summer food, the earthworm, was introduced to North America from Europe and thrives in lawns, and their primary winter food (fruit) is more common in the hedgerows and edge habitats we create.

American Robins eating sumac berries