European Robin

Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758)

12–14 cmLength21 cmWingspan18 gWeight

This small bird has an orange-red breast and face, and is unafraid of people in British gardens, approaching to find earthworms as they turn the soil.

Busiest months: October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

Looks like American Robin

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Orange-red breast and face
Orange-red area bordered with blue-gray on both sides
Brown upperparts and whitish belly
Black bill and eyes; brown legs and feet

Male, female and young

Sexes have identical plumage; juvenile is brown with spots overall and lacks a red breast, with orange patches appearing gradually.

Voice

Call is a flutelike warble; during the breeding season, it sings from morning until evening and also at night.

Similar species

American Robin

American Robin takes its name from the similar orange breast patch, but is much larger and not closely related.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: October · Most records: United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal

European Robin has been recorded at 1,376 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 78 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Amwell HMWT NRUnited Kingdom7,367 records
Titchwell Marsh RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom6,550 records
Txingudi – PlaiaundiSpain5,337 records

More places

Minsmere RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom5,085 records
Beddington FarmlandsUnited Kingdom4,450 records
WWT London Wetland CentreUnited Kingdom3,561 records
South Downs NP – Pulborough Brooks RSPB ReserveUnited Kingdom3,542 records
Walthamstow WetlandsUnited Kingdom3,442 records
Urdaibai RB – bird center y laguna de OruetaSpain3,371 records
Spurn Bird Observatory Recording AreaUnited Kingdom3,329 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United Kingdom Spain Portugal Germany France Czechia Israel Ireland

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The European robin (Erithacus rubecula), known simply as the robin or robin redbreast in the British Isles, is a small insectivorous passerine bird belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found across Europe, as far east as Western Siberia, and as far south as North Africa. It is sedentary in the west and south of its range, and migratory in the north and east of its range where winters are harsher.

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