Short Description
The robin is almost unmistakable with its orange-red throat, forehead and breast. The top of the body is brown and the belly is light grey. Another distinctive feature are the little rounded birds black button eyes.
Juveniles have a dark-brown plumage without any red.
Features
Robin
Erithacus rubecula
orange-red throat and breast
Gesang
Frommolt, CC BY-SA 3.0
In the city
The former forest dweller can now also be found in parks, gardens and cemeteries with plenty of undergrowth. It often inhabits areas near water.
Robins are not very shy in dealing with humans, particularly in the vicinity of a potential source of food, e.g. insects disturbed by gardening or on bird feeders.
Fun Facts
From February to July, robins start to sing approx. 50 minutes before sunrise. But they can sometimes also be heard at night. In those cases, they are generally found close to light sources such as street lamps.
The robin was the first animal model for which the perception of magnetic fields (magnetoreception) in animals was scientifically proven.
Robins can be observed to the end of October. They return to Germany at the end of February. However, more and more robins spend the winter in Germany.
Robins can imitate the voices of many other birds.
They do not sing during heavy rain. However, after precipitation or in fog, singing activity is increased.
They feed mainly on insects, small spiders, worms and snails.
- Endangerment level Germany: not endangered
Sources
Habitus , Joefrei , CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rotkehlchenportrait_aus_ca._1_Meter_Entfernung.jpg
Jungtier, Charlesjsharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_robin_(Erithacus_rubecula)_juvenile.jpg
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mit Beute, Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Petirrojo_europeo_(Erithacus_rubecula),_Tierpark_Hellabrunn,_M%C3%BAnich,_Alemania,_2012-06-17,_DD_01.JPG
,_Tierpark_Hellabrunn,_M%C3%BAnich,_Alemania,_2012-06-17,_DD_01.JPG){kind=link}
Page „Rotkehlchen“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 23.11.2020, 19:03 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rotkehlchen&oldid=205865120 (Accessed: 26.11.2020).
Artenfinder (2016) Erithacus rubecula (Rotkehlchen), URL: https://arteninfo.net/elearning/voegel/speciesportrait/3085 (Accessed: 18.04.2017).
NABU – Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V. (2016) Vogeluhr, URL: https://www.nabu.de/nabu_vogeluhr2/index.php?iframed=1 (Accessed: 10.02.2021).