I was thinking about robins today. They’re as common as dirt around here, so I don’t really think of them as anything particularly special. In fact, when I’m out with my camera, I’ll sometimes see a bird with a splash of color and get all excited and then when I see it’s a robin, I put the camera down. Oh, it’s just a robin.
Here’s what the Peterson Field Guild to Birds says about robins, which, by the way, are in the thrush family, along with bluebirds. Did you know that bluebirds and robins are both thrushes?
Robin: One of the most familiar of all birds, easily recognizable by its gray back and brick-red breast. …The bill is yellow. Young Robins have speckled breasts…
Voice: Song, a clear, whistled caroling, often long continued, made up of short phrases of two or three notes.
Range: (this part is too boring to repeat).
The Lynn Field Guide to Robins:
Robin, aka Harbinger of Spring. Known to be good birds in all the stories (so sayeth Peter in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: “I’m sure a robin wouldn’t be on the wrong side”). Also known to lead people to secret gardens. According to Ben Weatherstaff, “They’re the friendliest, curiousest birds alive.”
Appearance: They don’t call him “Robin Redbreast” for nothing.
Quotes:
“Cheep – tuk, tuk, tuk,” which means in Robinese, “I see you – don’t come any closer.”
“Cheerily, cheerily, cheerily,” which translated means, “All is well; all is very well.”
Habits: If you want to find a robin’s nest, walk around by the bushes and shrubs. If a robin flies out in alarm, you have found the nest. They’re not very bright that way.
Favorite Food: Worms for breakfast, worms for lunch, worms for supper, worms to munch.
I started trying to paint robins, so that’s given me a new appreciation for their beautiful coloring. I never noticed before that there’s a white ring around their eyes. I like robins. If I ever write a story, a robin will definitely be one of the good birds.
I’ll probably delete this in the morning. Cheerily, cheerily, cheerily!
Lynniebeemuseoday 