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A robin in snow – one of the classic images of the British winter.
Without any doubt, the robin is Britain’s favourite bird. No other species – not the cheeky blue tit, the majestic golden eagle or the stately swan – can ever come close to it in the nation’s affections. This is almost certainly because the robin is not only attractive in appearance but also confiding in its habits. Tameness goes hand in hand with the robin, and it is often known as ‘the gardener’s friend’ because it will follow you around as you dig up a flowerbed.
Of course, none of this is designed to win our affections. Robins are tame because they see an easy way to get food: as we turn over the soil, so worms and other small creatures come to the surface – easy pickings for the robin. And what about that beautiful orange-red breast? It may look attractive to us, but to rival robins it is nothing less than war paint, a flash of colour designed to ward off rivals that might take over the incumbent’s territory.
If a rival should dare to intrude into a robin’s space, all hell breaks loose. Robins are pugnacious little creatures and will fight – sometimes to the death – to keep their right to breed in a particular place. They need to: most robins will survive only one or two winters, which means they may get just one chance to breed and pass on their genes to future generations. So this is a life-or-death battle in more ways than one.
Yet, despite their unsocial habits, which in human terms would win them an ASBO, we still love our robins. Its place in folklore is assured, and it is by far the most frequent creature to appear on our Christmas cards – a legacy of the days when the Victorian postmen wore red uniforms and were nicknamed ‘robins’.
A scientist named David Lack, in the middle years of the twentieth century, was the first to discover much of the truth about the robin. Lack had the bright idea of putting different-coloured rings on the legs of the robins in his study area, which meant he could tell individual birds apart from one another. He also conducted a number of radical experiments, such as putting a stuffed robin in another bird’s territory – it was promptly and viciously attacked! Lack wrote a bestselling book, The Life of the Robin, and later made a famous film with the BBC, entitled The Private Life of the Robin, which publicised his work to an audience of millions.
Despite this, several misconceptions remain about this familiar garden bird. One is that it is only the males that have a red breast – in fact, male and female robins are identical, and it is the juvenile birds that appear brown and speckled. Another is that robins behave the same wherever they are – yet continental European robins are a shy bird found mainly in woodlands, rather than gardens.
The robin’s song is among the sweetest and most attractive of all our songbirds: a plaintive series of tuneful phrases, delivered carefully, neither fast nor slow. Understandably, most people assume that only male robins sing, as with other songbirds, yet the female robin will also sing to defend her territory, especially outside the breeding season. Both male and female robins also sing throughout the autumn and winter months – unlike other garden birds, they defend a territory outside the breeding season as well.
Robins are known for nesting in some very unusual places. As well as in shrubberies and climbing plants, they will also take to open-fronted nest boxes, teapots, toilet cisterns, overcoat pockets and even the top of tractor engines!
The robin is not only Britain’s favourite bird; it also has a global legacy. All over the world – especially in places once ruled by the British such as North America, Asia and Africa – all sorts of birds with a reddish or orange breast are given the name ‘robin’, despite having little or no connection with our familiar bird.
