The American Robin ( Turdus migratorius) is a familiar bird across North America, known for its brick-red chest, gray back, and cheerful caroling song. Often seen running and hopping on lawns with an upright stance, the robin is adaptable and thrives in various environments, from cities and towns to open woodlands and agricultural lands. Its diet reflects this adaptability, changing with the seasons and available food sources.
An Omnivore's Delight: Insects, Worms, Fruits, and More
Robins are omnivores, meaning they consume both plant and animal matter. They serve as predators mostly of insects and worms, but also of small snakes and other small reptiles and amphibians. The American Robin's diet consists of approximately 60% fruit year-round.
In early summer, insects make up the majority of their diet; they also feed on earthworms, snails, spiders, and other invertebrates. Specific examples include caterpillars, beetles, spiders, termites, millipedes, and centipedes. Robins locate earthworms by sight, not by hearing them move underground.
However, robins are opportunistic feeders and have been known to consume animals that aren't usually part of their diet. There have been reports of robins eating a dead mouse and even an 8-inch garter snake on Vancouver Island.
The Importance of Berries and Fruits
Berries, other fruits, and seeds are a significant part of a robin's diet. They serve as fruit and berry eaters. They eat a berry in one place, and then fly away. When they poop, their droppings often contain the seeds of these berries, so the robins can "plant" them in new places. Fruit accounts for perhaps 60% of diet year-round; mainly wild berries, also some cultivated fruits. The most important plants that robins eat are in the rose family. Cherries and plums, which are members of the genus prunus, are in this group. The plants robins eat vary according to location.
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In the Southeast, chinaberries and blackberries are most popular. Other fruits consumed by robins include beautyberries, cultivated and wild grapes, cultivated and wild cherries, and Russian olive.
Seasonal Shifts in Diet
A robin's changing diet is a sure sign of changing seasons. Robins can easily switch from eating a lot of worms to taking almost entirely fruits, so when the ground starts getting cold in fall, robins change their diet. During droughts and other periods when worms are temporarily hard to find, robins can eat fruit. The American Robin is a migratory species and travel south for winter.
In early summer, when the ground is rich and moist, robins primarily feed on earthworms and insects. As the seasons change and the ground starts getting cold in the fall, robins shift their focus to berries and other fruits. Some robins retreat all the way to southern Texas and Florida, but others winter as far north as they can find berries. The winter range is highly variable from year to year, depending on local food supplies.
Threats to Robins
Most robins die from cats, hawks, and other predators. They also perish from accidents such as flying into windows, getting hit by moving cars, being electrocuted, getting infectious diseases, and being poisoned. Chemical insecticides can be very harmful to robins. Pesticides, especially insecticides, sprayed on lawns. The chemicals used in the US and Canada break down into non-toxic molecules far faster than DDT did, but most are still highly toxic to robins for the time that they work on insects. Adult robins hopping on a freshly-sprayed lawn get their tummy feathers coated, and then if they incubate their eggs or babies, the toxins can be taken in, especially through nestling skin, to kill the babies. Crows and jays, which eat robin babies. Hawks, shrikes, and owls, which kill and eat robins. Snakes, which eat robin eggs in the areas where tree-climbing snakes live. Communications towers kill a few migrating robins each year, but far fewer robins than neotropical migrants such as warblers, orioles, and other thrushes. Thorns, which sometimes get stuck on robin feathers.
The Robin's Role in the Ecosystem
Robins are in turn eaten by foxes, bobcats, hawks, shrikes, and owls, and crows and blue jays often take their eggs and babies. Jays and crows eat baby robins during the nesting season, but when they aren't stalking a robin nest, they are very helpful to robins by alerting them of even greater dangers, and sometimes chasing away hawks and owls. Robins may also consider mockingbirds, waxwings, and other birds that compete for fruit to be enemies-they often chase these birds away.
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Attracting Robins to Your Yard
There are several ways to attract robins to your yard. As 60% of their diet is composed of fruits and berries, planting a berry bush will provide them an excellent foraging opportunity. Plant the kinds of berry trees and bushes that provide abundant food for robins and the kinds of trees and shrubs that provide good cover for nesting. Robins also enjoy raisins, grapes, and suet, which can be offered on a platform feeder. Earthworms and other invertebrates make up part of the robins' diet as well.
To protect robins, keep cats indoors, set out nest platforms for robins, stop using insecticides in lawn sprays and only spot spray weed killers rather than spraying the entire lawn.
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