The Habits of American Robins: Master Nest Builders
Almost every garden in North America has hosted a nesting pair of American Robins at some point.
These red-breasted birds, or for some, "Red Robin Bird" mark the return of Spring to many folks in the northern states.
Let's explore their nesting habits, changing winter - summer diets, breeding cycle, and more!.
Description: Size, Field Marks
American Robins have gray upperparts and the familiar reddish breast, varying from pale rust to a dark brick red.
They are in the family of "Thrushes" which includes the Eastern Bluebird.
Robin Drinking at Small Stream
Males and females look nearly identical. A side by side comparison will show that the female colors are less vibrant.
Sometimes during nesting season, you'll see mud on the breast of a female since she is the one that lines the nest with mud.
The average size of an adult Robin is 9 to 11 inches long.
Juvenile Robins are like adults but are spotted on the breast and have shorter tails when they first fledge.
Juvenile American Robin
Often, you'll see these birds hopping on lawns, meadows, and golf courses looking for earthworms. They also eat insects, fruit, and berries.
Breeding Season
At the start of the Robin nesting season, the male's song is to advertise his territory or to attract a mate. You'll hear them the most just before the young hatch.
The typical American Robin breeding season runs from April to July. Although, nest building may begin as early as March, in some southern states.
Nesting Habits
The Robin's nesting habits begin with building what most people think of when they think bird nest, a perfectly round nest with a mud base, grasses lining the outside, and softer materials used inside for the eggs to rest on.
Their nests are so well built that it's not uncommon to find Mourning Doves reusing them to raise young.
Robin's Nest with Four Eggs Laid
The nest is placed in the crotch of a tree or shrub 5-20 feet above the ground.
The availability of mud at nesting time may entice these birds to nest nearby. They will also make use of wool, string, and hair.
These birds can produce up to three successful broods in one year. On average, two clutches are raised with less than half being successful.
These birds are very protective of their nest and territory. They even fly repeatedly into windows attacking their reflection.
Only a quarter of those that fledge survive until November. From that point on, about half of the birds alive in any year will make it to the next.
According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the total population turns over on average every six years.
Egg Laying, Incubation
The female lays 3-7 light blue eggs that she will sit on and incubate for 12 to 14 days before the eggs hatch. After hatching, she broods the young until they can regulate their temperatures. This process takes about a week.
After the first week, the female no longer spends the night in the nest. The young will leave the nest in about 14 to 16 days after hatching.
Robin at Sunset
Robins will return to the same territories from season to season. Sometimes they build a new nest on top of their old one. I've personally seen as many as three on top of one another. However, Robins do not reuse their nest.
Recap of Nesting Behaviors
- Female typically lays 3 - 7 eggs with an average clutch of 4 all blue eggs.
- She sits on the eggs (incubates) for 12 to 14 days.
- Once the eggs hatch it will take 14 to 16 days before the young are able to leave the nest. (fledge)
- Robins will nest 2 or 3 times each season.
Can I Remove a Robin Nest?
Sometimes Robins nest on porch lights or other structures where you don't like them to be. It's illegal to remove any active nest with eggs or young in them.
Once nesting is over, It's a good idea to remove the old nests in baskets and off of downspouts and rafters in the fall so that parasites don't overwinter.
Removing the nest protects future broods should they return to the same site because parasites may travel from the old nest to the new nest.
Sometimes a single female will build several nests close to one another. She will eventually select one to raise her young in.
This practice requires more study to understand why multiple nest are built before laying eggs.
Call: Understanding Their Songs and Sounds
Often the first bird song in the mourning is that of the American Robin. Described as a "cheerily, cheer-up, cheerio" or "cheer-up, cheerily, cheer-up" pattern.
The song is typically clear and flute-like, with each note rising and falling in pitch.
Nest Boxes
Robins do not use traditional nest boxes or bird houses. Instead, they can be attracted to nesting ledges and nest shelves.
In the video below you can see a female building a nest in a man-made structure a friend gave me. Three young fledge from this nest.
Video Shows Robin Nest Being Built on Nest Box
Do They Mate for Life?
When Robins pair at the beginning of the breeding season, they mostly stay together through several broods. Extra pair copulation is common.
If one of the pair dies, the other will find a new mate. Nest with young may be tended by remaining adult. Abandonment of eggs may occur.
Robins do not mate for life. At the end of the breeding season, flocks are formed and feed together during the winter.
Pairs may return to the same territory and re-mate seasonally. This is more about selecting the territory and not the mate.
Diet: Food Preference Changes Seasonally - Summer and Winter
Everyone has seen a Robin eating a worm from their lawn, but that's not all they eat. Robins eat different types of food depending not only on the time of year but even the time of day.
They eat earthworms early in the day and switch to eating fruit later in the day.
They don't eat regular birdseed, but that doesn't mean you can't attract them to your feeders. Try using an open tray feeder and placing dried raisins, grapes, and even grape jelly.
Robins love Mealworms, which are inch-long larvae, with brown, crusty shells, available from pet supply stores or online.
Because they forage largely on lawns, they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning and can be an important indicator of chemical pollution.
Winter Feeding Habits
So what do Robins eat in winter when there is snow on the ground?
In winter, They head to wooded areas where there are berries and other fruit to eat during winter. Native plants provide the food they need to survive winter.
Location in winter will determine what type of diet they'll have. They may eat the fruit of Hawthorns, Sumac, Wild grapes, Winterberry, Serviceberry, and the Eastern Red Cedar.
The Eastern Red Cedar is also a favorite of the Cedar Waxwing.
Habitat
This is a bird of woodland edges and openings. Preferring open ground on which it can forage for insects to eat and feed their young.
After the breeding season, Robins flock together and go to large communal roosts at night. This habit continues from fall through winter.
Where Do They Go In Late Summer - July and August?
As it gets later in the season around late July or August, you begin to notice fewer of them around your yard.
Once the nesting cycle winds down and juvenile Robins are getting along on their own, the adults move to more forested areas.
The hot summer sun is baking our yards and earthworms and insects have burrowed deeper into the soil making it more difficult for the birds to reach them.
The forest floor, with its leaf litter and ripening berries, offers a bounty of food that will sustain the Robins through fall and some through winter.
Finding Baby Robins
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A good percentage of baby Robins are lost due to people thinking they've rescued the little bird. The juveniles are often found on the ground without what seems to be any parental oversight.
Humans catch these newly fledged birds and take them inside, not knowing they've rescued a bird that didn't need rescuing.
Be careful around the nest or young birds on the ground as the adult may attack you. Read more here - Robin Diving at Humans.
When baby robins first leave the nest, they cannout fly well. Some jump to higher branches in the nest tree and some flap their wings to the ground and land softly.
These baby birds are fine. The adults will continue to care for them for 10 or more days after they leave the nest.
Fledgling Robin Waiting to be Fed by Adults
If you're worried they may be in harm's way, help them to a nearby shrub for protection so that the adults will find and continue feeding them.
The adult birds can see you a block away. So don't assume because you don't see any adult birds that there are none around.
Adult birds are listening for the juveniles and will find them if you keep them close to where you found them.
Please share this information with others who may think they're helping these young birds.
Keeping your cats indoors during the nesting season will go a long way in helping our birds. Baby Robins do not return to the nest after fledging.
Visitors to this site have submitted photos and stories of some Robins unusual nesting places that they've choosen to raise their young.
Robins Nesting in Hanging Plants
Watch Videos of Our Nest Experience
Learn About Attracting Robins To Your Backyard
Watch as Baby Robins (juvenile) Leave The Nest
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What Other Visitors Have Said
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