Pickings are easy for robins after many days of rain that washed earth worms from their burrows. The robin is a bird that is commonly associated with the arrival of spring. Large flocks of them winter in the northern states. These large groups can contain thousands of birds. One of the most widely accepted signals that spring has arrived once again is the return, usually in March, of the robins from their southern wintering grounds.
Evident fondness for human society probably helps it to be the best known American bird. Practically all robins who breed in temperate zones migrate to warmer climates in the autumn, their places are taken by birds who have bred further north so the robin is well represented in its northern range even in the dead of winter. Robins are a short distance migrant. Often the robin that you see in the middle of winter normally lives in the northern areas of your region.
Named by the early English settlers because of its color resemblance to their robin redbreast, the robin is actually a thrush -- the largest in North America. It is more closely related to the blackbirds of England than to English robins.
The robin sings often very early in morning. No song has a greater sense of well being than that of a robin after a warm spring rain. Because they are a common, familiar bird we tend to over look this handsome member of the thrush family.
The migrating robins are often found in large flocks outside of breeding season. The male robin is quite dapper, almost formally attired with jet black to dark gray head, spotted throat, slate gray back, dark tail feathers and his trademark, his brick red breast. Also the robin has white undertail coverts a thin yellow bill and a broken eye ring. The sexes are similar in their markings though the female is somewhat paler. The robin's winter plumage is somewhat paler than their summer plumage and juvenile robins have spotted, whiter breasts.
Similar species to the American Robin are the Rufous backed Robin and the Varied Thrush. The American Robin is a common occupant of residential areas where it often forages on lawns during the breeding season. In Fall and Winter, it can be found in large, somewhat nomadic flocks in areas with many fruiting trees. The very rare Rufous-backed Robin (southwestern United States) has a rufous, not gray, back. The Varied Thrush has a dark band across its breast and orange wing bars.
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