European Robin

The European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), most commonly known in Anglophone Europe simply as the Robin, is a small insectivorous passerine bird that was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now considered to be a chat. Around 12.5–14.0 cm (5.0–5.5 in) in length, the male and female are similar in colouration, with an orange breast and face lined with grey, brown upperparts and a whitish belly. It is found across Europe, east to Western Siberia and south to North Africa; it is sedentary in most of its range except the far north.

The term Robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American Robin (Turdus migratorius), which is a thrush, and the Australian red robins of the genus Petroica, members of a family whose relationships are unclear.

Read more about European Robin:  Taxonomy, Description, Distribution and Habitat, Behaviour, Magnetoreception, Cultural Depictions

Famous quotes containing the words european and/or robin:

    What is the first thing that savage tribes accept from Europeans nowadays? Brandy and Christianity, the European narcotics.—And what is it that most rapidly leads to their destruction?—The European narcotics.
    Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    ‘Lay me a green sod under my head,
    And another at my feet;
    And lay my bent bow at my side,
    Which was my music sweet;
    And make my grave of gravel and green,
    Which is most right and meet.
    —Unknown. Robin Hood’s Death (l. 65–70)