Hobbies And Interests
Appearance
Robins have a large, round body, with long legs and tail. Generally, a robin will be between 9 to 11 inches in length and between 2.7 to 3 oz. in weight. The wingspan of a robin should be between 12 to 15.7 inches. The male robin will have a yellow bill, a gray or brownish-gray back and a brick red breast. His head will be a darker shade of gray with white streaks on his throat. Female robins look similar to male robins, but her breast and back are lighter shades of gray and red.
Reproduction
The female robin builds a nest from mud, twigs and grass on a lower tree branch, or in shrubbery. She will lay three to five eggs that are blue in color in the cup-shaped nest. The eggs hatch in 1214 days. Born mostly naked, baby birds are helpless when they are born. For the first 12 to 13 days of life the babies do not leave the nest. Once ready, baby robins begin to take flight and from that point forward the father robin takes over the child rearing. The mother robin will begin to make a new nest as she can produce up to three broods a year. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, only 40 percent of nests each year successfully yield a brood of chicks.
Diet
Robins have an extremely varied diet. What a robin eats depends largely upon the food available in the location it resides and the time of year. In the spring and summer months robins gravitate toward eating insects such as snails, earthworms and other invertebrates.In the fall and winter robins eat more fruit and berries including juniper berries and chokecherries.
Migration
Robins can live into their teenage years. However, according to the Cornell Lab of Orinthology, robins live about 6 years on average. Each year robins will travel south with a roost of birds to seek warmer temperatures. In the spring robins will return north to raise their young. Some migratory songbirds travel more than 1,000 miles each year. Robins use the geographical landscapes on their route to guide them along their journey.