European Robin Identification Guide

The European Robin is easily recognized by the orange color of its throat and chest, which extends up to its forehead.

It is about the size of a sparrow.

It is recognized by its silhouette: it is round-bodied and stands tall on its legs.

The crown, back, wings, and tail of the Robin are brown, sometimes with gray or olive hues.

The belly is pale gray.

In its plumage, a gray band on the side of the throat is noticeable.

Its large black eyes are quite characteristic.

The bigger the eyes relative to the body, the better it adapts to darkness.

The juveniles have a "camouflage" plumage: they are light brown speckled with clear. It takes 2 months for the orange color to appear.

The European Robin is one of the first and last to sing due to its large eyes, which allow it to see in low light.

Unlike most birds, the female sings! She produces a territory defense song with as much determination as the male.

The European Robin makes sharp, dry calls when disturbed. "tick" sometimes rapidly repeated "ticktickticktick"

The song of the European Robin is flute-like and high-pitched and seems disjointed.

The European Robin is often surprised perched on a branch singing to mark its territory or attract females.

It is also often noticed hopping on the ground in search of food.

The European Robin is a great loner. It defends its territory all year round, even in winter.

To survive in winter, the female also occupies and defends her own territory.

A Robin without a territory dies within a few weeks, which is why it can be very aggressive in defending its territory.

It raises its tail, spreads its wings, and displays its red breast to repel the intruder and can even resort to deathly fights!

With humans, the European Robin is quite tame. It approaches easily to find food.

For mating, the female must be accepted onto the male's territory.

It produces 2 to 3 broods per year of 5 to 7 pale yellow eggs speckled with light brown.

Its nest is a cup of twigs, grass, and moss lined with hair often on the ground or up to 3m high.

It places its nest in tree holes, walls, hedges, shrubs and even in mailboxes.

The European Robin prefers open or semi-open nest boxes, placed low so it can stay close to the ground.

The European Robin has a fine beak typical of an insectivore.

It eats caterpillars, butterflies, slugs, and spiders.

From autumn to spring, it feeds on seeds, berries, and small fruits found on the ground.

Perched at low heights, it watches the ground, grabs its prey, and returns to perch.

It also hops on the ground in search of food.

In the garden, it follows the gardener's spade and mole tunnels to collect worms.

In the forest, it benefits from insects disturbed by pheasants, deer, and wild boars.

It readily comes to feeders. Asocial, it doesn't share feeders with other robins except in times of scarcity.

As it likes to feed on the ground, food can be placed on the ground under shelter (raisins, berries, oats soaked in oil).

The European Robin is found in the undergrowth and bush clusters of deciduous or mixed forests.

It is also found in parks and gardens with trees and shrubs.

In the garden, the European Robin settles in bushy corners with dense bushes and shrubs or woodpiles. It may nest there.

It is a sedentary and sometimes short-distance migrant species.

Most older males stay in the same place all year round, even in winter.

Many wintering in our regions come from Scandinavia (especially females). Those that leave in severe cold, head towards the Mediterranean.