preview

Research Paper On American Robin

Decent Essays

The American Robin is one of the more popular birds around. They are known for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter. I chose this bird because they are so commonly found in locations around me. One specific location was my backyard. Just at the end of spring a male and female robin moved into my backyard, where they began to build a nest and hopefully later make a family of their own. The American Robin is in the phylum Chordata, class Aves, and order Passeriformes. They also are classified under family Turdidae, genus Turdus, and species T. migratorius. Robins usually measure out to be 7.9-11 inches long with a wingspan of 12.2-15.7 inches. While also weighing in at 77-85 grams. They happen …show more content…

They defend the nests and sing while he waits for his mate (Howell 1942). When individuals arrive, testes containing developing spermatocytes and ovarian follicles become enlarged (Kemper and Taylor 1981). Males and females tend to chose mated based off plumage. One of the most interesting things I found was that mates choose their counterparts based off how similar they are to themselves, regarding breast color (Rowe and Weatherhead 2011). In my observations, the couple living on my property both had similar colored chests, so I could relate to those findings. It has been found that females construct the nest, for the most part. The process of making the nest usually take up to two weeks to make (Kendeigh 1952, Young 1955). In my findings, I can confirm that I often saw the male carrying twigs and branches to the nest site, while the female built up the nest The male was seen dropping off material for the nest and then would fly back out. Since my observations were obviously in the summer, I made sure to research on what robins are up to during the winter. During winter nights, they assemble in large flocks at night in trees in isolated swamps or dense vegetation. On the other hand, during the day the flock breaks up and the birds feed on berries and fruits in smaller …show more content…

All these occasions involved earthworms and each occurrence seemed to involve the male carrying these earthworms back to the nest. I later found that in early summer days, robins have insects make up the majority of their diets. Besides earthworms, I learned that they will feed on snails, spiders, and other invertebrates. Fruit also apparently makes up 60% of their diet year round, with an abundant amount eaten in the winter. Robins use their bills to probe the ground and soil, as well as move twigs, leaves, and other objects that could be used (Vanderhoff and Eason 2008). Robins use uncomplicated tactics to catch their

Get Access