Species: Turdus migratorius

American Robin

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Upper side dark gray with a darker head; rusty-orange breast and flanks; white spots around eye; dark tail with or without white outer corners. Adult male is darker than adult female and has a darker orange breast. Juveniles have a dark-spotted orangish breast. Length: 25 cm, wingspan 43 cm.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Turdidae

Genus

Turdus

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102179

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Mirlo Primavera - merle d'Amérique

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Turdidae - Turdus - Resident population in mountains of southern Baja California sometimes is regarded as separate species, T. CONFINIS (AOU 1983, 1998). See Aldrich and James (1991) for a summary of major geographic patterns in size, shape, and plumage color.

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A bird (thrush).

Migration

true - true - true - Most American robins that nest in Alaska, Canada, and northern United States migrate south for winter. The number of individuals staying north varies from year to year. Southward migrations may begin in August and can be extensive in October and November; specific timing varies among locations and years. Northward migrations begin in February in the southern United States. Arrivals in breeding areas in the northern United States occur mostly in March and April.

Non-migrant

true

Locally Migrant

true

Food Comments

Eats worms, insects, and other invertebrates (mostly obtained on ground), and small fruits (Terres 1980). Diet throughout range dominated by fruits (especially Rosaceae) in fall and winter, invertebrates (especially Coleoptera, Lepidoptera) in spring.

Reproduction Comments

Egg laying usually begins in April or (in some northern or high elevation areas) May, and nesting may continue into July. Clutch size is 3-6 (usually 4). Incubation, by female, lasts usually 11-14 days. Both parents tend young, which leave the nest 14-16 days after hatching. Individual females produce/attempt usually 2 broods per year, sometimes 3.

Ecology Comments

Defends nesting territories but may also use undefended feeding grounds up to 300 meters distant (Knupp et al. 1977).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-03

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-03

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Breeding range extends from western and northern Alaska eastward across northern Canada to Labrador and Newfoundland, and south to southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, Sonora, southern Mexico (Oaxaca and verzcruz), U.S. Gulf Coast, and (rarely) central Florida; also resident in mountains of southern Baja California (AOU 1998). Winter range extends from southern Alaska (rarely), southern Canada, and the northern contiguous United States south to Baja California, Guatemala, U.S. Gulf Coast, southern Florida, Bermuda, western Cuba, and (rarely northern Bahamas (AOU 1998).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102179