Granddad’s Camera
Robin, as it appears in the game

No.001 · Birds · Common

Robin

Erithacus rubecula

Britain's boldest little bird: orange-red face and breast, big dark eyes, and a habit of hopping up beside anyone who turns the soil. It sings almost all year round, even in winter.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn, day and dusk.

Time of day

Best time
Dawn to mid-morning all year; sings from dusk lamp-posts in winter. Nests March–July.
Where in the game
Millbrook (garden, park, churchyard and urban) and the New Forest (ancient woodland and lawn)
Size
Length about 14 cm
Wingspan
About 21 cm
Weight
About 19 g (BTO adult average)
Lifespan
Average about 2 years; the oldest ringed robin lived over 8 years (Wildlife Trusts, BTO)
Population
About 7.4 million territories in the UK (BTO, 2016)
Status
Green (Birds of Conservation Concern 5, 2021)

Diet

Insects, spiders and worms; berries and seeds in autumn and winter; happily takes mealworms and suet.

Habitat

Gardens, hedgerows, parks and woods; the classic garden bird.

Breeding

Nests March–July in hollows, ivy, old kettles and open-fronted boxes; usually 4–5 eggs, typically 2 broods, occasionally 3.

Field signs

  • Bright orange-red face and breast with a grey-blue edge; young birds are speckled brown with no red
  • Thin, wistful, warbling song, given by both sexes; sharp 'tic-tic' alarm call
  • Solitary bird on a low perch, bobbing and flicking its tail

Did you know?

  • Robins hold separate territories even in winter, and both males and females sing to defend them, which is why you hear song in December.
  • Robins sometimes sing at night beneath street lights, which is why some people mistake them for nightingales.
  • In 2015 the robin was voted Britain's national bird in a public poll run by David Lindo, though it has no official status.

Moments worth waiting for

  • Winter song October to March, dawn and dusk
    A robin sings from a bare twig, its breath steaming, defending its winter patch.
  • Following the spade October to March, day
    A robin drops to the fresh soil a metre from your feet, watching for worms.

Photo tip

Get low and wait beside a spade or fork; robins will land within a metre. Shoot at eye level against a plain background on a bright frosty morning and focus on the eye.

Be a good naturalist

Feed robins only proper foods (mealworms, suet, seed) and never move a nest. Leave fledglings on the ground alone: their parents are close by.

The law

All wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it is an offence to kill, injure or take them or damage an active nest.

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