Feeding Time

Rotkehlchen
Rouge-gorge
Roodborst
Rödhake

If you were able to understand what at least one of the above four words mean you know German, French, Dutch or Swedish. Then you also know that today we will talk about robins which I captured today in my back garden under the olive tree.

Today during my lunch break I photoed one of my resident adult robins just about to feed the always hungry juvenile. Adults have rich orange breast and forehead and uniform olive brown upper parts. The juvenile lacks orange and is strongly mottled with buff and dark brown. It is distinguished from a young redstart for example by the dark brown instead of the chestnut tail. It is smaller in size compared to a juvenile nightingale and has buffer under parts and a dark brown tail. Confiding behaviour towards us, humans, and characteristically jaunty attitudes are quite well known.

The song of robins which I now hear all day every day is varied and features high warbling short phrases. It repeats 'tic', 'tsip' or 'tsissip' and a 'tseee'.

Other than in my back garden and the neighbours' robins live in woods with undergrowth, hedges and coppices. They nests in ivy, banks, trees, holes or crannies in walls, tin cans and even teapots.