How to Identify Robin Birds

Dori/Wikimedia Commons

The American robin is one of the easier birds to identify, thanks to its distinctive coloring and preference for suburban environments. These birds are a harbinger of spring and rebirth, as their cheerful song is one of the first heard after winter.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Binoculars
Binoculars

Step 1

Assess the size and shape of the bird. American robins typically are 10 inches in length and weigh about 3 ounces. These birds are comparatively large songbirds (largest of the North American thrushes) with a fat body, long legs and a long tail.

Step 2

American robins are known for their distinctive coloring. Male robins have gray-brown backs, dark heads and bright red-orange chests. They have a white patch on their lower bellies and under their tails that can be seen while in flight. Female American robins are similarly colored but are paler, with lighter-colored heads that blend with the color of their backs.

Step 3

Listen closely to the birdsong. See references for a sample of American robin songs.

Step 4

Observe the bird's behavior. American robins typically are the first birds heard in the spring. Early birdsong can be attributed to this bird. They are perky birds, often seen hopping across well-manicured suburban lawns in the spring with their heads cocked to the side, listening for worms.

Step 5

Dmytro Sergiyenko/Wikimedia Commons

Look for the nest. American robin nests are cup-shaped and made of twigs and dried grass held together by mud. They typically are lined with fresh grass. The eggs are a distinctive blue.

Tips & Warnings

Nests are likely to be found in coniferous trees because of the American robin's tendency to nest early in the spring. These birds eat fruit in the fall and winter and invertebrates such as worms in the spring and summer. American robins are found year-round in most of the United States. They can be seen in Canada to breed in the summer and in the southern United States and parts of Mexico in the winter.

Nests are likely to be found in coniferous trees because of the American robin's tendency to nest early in the spring.

These birds eat fruit in the fall and winter and invertebrates such as worms in the spring and summer.

American robins are found year-round in most of the United States. They can be seen in Canada to breed in the summer and in the southern United States and parts of Mexico in the winter.

American robins are highly sensitive to pesticides on lawns, but they are not a conservatory concern.

Resources

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center: American Robin

Article Written By Anne Marie LeFevre

Anne Marie LeFevre has been a freelance writer since 2009 and works full-time as a copy editor in New York. She has been published in "Vox" magazine and the "Missourian" in Columbia, Mo. LeFevre holds a Bachelor of Magazine Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism.

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