Robins are songbirds. Birdcalls and songs serve many functions. We may define calls and songs as verbal or acoustic communication among birds. Calls are briefer than songs. Both are associated with finding food, escaping from predators, parent chick relations, group movements and social contacts.
The European Robin’s song consists of bursts of four different phrases. A single Robin may have several hundred phrases used in various combinations. Robins are found to use certain phrases regularly and the songs last a particular duration. Robins identify their neighbors by listening to their songs.
While in Europe the Cuckoo call is considered the arrival of spring, in US it is the appearance of American Robin. American Robins are highly adapted to cold conditions. During winter their diet is confined to berries. With the onset of spring, the bird switches over to its usual diet, insects and worms.
Robins are best insect catchers. German farmers used to trap European Robins and keep them in their houses to clear insects.
The European Robin lays five eggs. The female incubates the eggs. She does not leave the nest and is fed by the male. Once the eggs hatch, the female will desert the nest and go in search of a new nesting site. The male is forced to take over feeding and protecting the brood until the chicks become independent. The male will now go after his partner, find her in the new nesting site and start his work all over again.
On the contrary, the female American Robin takes care of her brood fully. In Northern Alaska, where the summer days are long, she will spend as many as twenty-one hours a day feeding her brood. Not only does she take care of her chicks, she will spend a couple of hours cleaning her nest. In one documented instance, a mother American Robin fed her nestling a piece of meat. The piece was too large for the chick to swallow. The mother Robin in an attempt to clean the nest of the piece of meat threw it out along with the chick.
Robins like any other birds have their life not so easy to get along. They undertake migrations in search of breeding and feeding grounds and escape the hazards of climatic extremes. Only one out of four Robins survives to maturity.
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