Robins
Spotting a robin
Robins are easy to spot as they have a bright red breast with a white underneath and brown feathers on the top of their body and wings. There is a good population in Britain.
Behaviour
Males are very territorial – they’ll attack any other male who comes into their territory. They puff their red chests out as a sign of aggression. They will also sing to mark their territories. Robins nest in banks or tree crevices. They don’t have a long life-span, rarely living longer than two years.
Food
Their diet consists of worms, seeds, fruits, insects and other invertebrates. They find their food by hopping around lawns, flowerbeds and beneath trees and shrubs searching the ground for a tasty morsel.
To catch insects and worms they perch above the ground and watch for movement on the ground before swooping down to catch and eat their prey. Robins will often chase off birds much bigger than themselves to ensure they get enough to eat!
When it snows and the ground is covered robins find it very hard to find food and often starve. This is when they need your help the most.
The Nation’s favourite
In 2015 the Robin was voted Britain’s national bird!
Feeding Robins
Robins rarely come to hanging feeders but happily visit ground feeders and bird tables.
Feed robins seeds – sunflower hearts are ideal. Balls of fat or ‘bird cake’ – a rich mixture of fat and seeds are also a good choice. Mealworms are also a real treat.
Click here for our guide to making a fat and seed ball.
Nest Boxes
Winter is a good time to put up nest boxes.
Robins need open-fronted ones that are hidden away behind foliage or climbing plants so that they don’t attract the attention of cats.
Visit an RSBP Reserve
Visit somewhere with loads of birds! There are hundreds of nature reserves – find one near you on the RSPB website. (Takes you to an external site).