Redbreast

Redbreast (Erythaca rubecula), a bird of the family Sylviidæ, well known in the British Isles because of its very general distribution, its early and legendary associations, its conspicuous plumage, and the fact of its being resident. Its range is gradually extending northwards, and now it is found breeding in the Hebrides and Orkneys; in spring it is found on the island of Jan Mayen, in autumn it visits the Faroes, but it has not yet been recorded in Iceland. Southwards it breeds throughout Europe (but only locally in the south of Spain), in North-west Africa and the Canaries, Madeira, and the Azores; eastwards to the Ural Mountains. In winter its migrations extend to the Sahara, Egypt, Palestine, and Persia. The redbreast, known familiarly as Robin or Robin Redbreast, is about 5¾ inches long, olive-brown in colour on the upper parts; chin, throat, and upper breast reddish orange, bordered with bluish gray on the sides of the neck and shoulders; under parts dull white; bill black; legs and feet brown; the body fairly full and round, the legs slender. The female is usually but not always duller than the male. In habit robins are domineering and pugnacious; solitary, or found only in pairs, preferring plantations, but coming near dwelling-houses when forced by severe weather. Nesting begins in March. The nest of dead leaves, dried grass and moss, and lined with hair and feathers, is made in banks, hollow trees, and sometimes in strange and extraordinary places. The eggs, five to seven, are usually white with light reddish blotches, or pure white. Two or three broods are produced in the season. In autumn the young are forced by their parents to migrate, and at this season there is generally a great influx of robins from the northern parts of the Continent, where they have been passing the summer. The food consists chiefly of insects and worms; often of berries and other fruits; and in winter bread-crumbs and scraps of meat. Its song is sweet and plaintive, but of little compass, and not much noticed when other songsters abound. The widely distributed robin of the United States and Canada is a Thrush (Turdus migratorius).