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American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Photo Credit: John J. Mosesso
Length: 9-11 in.
Habitat: open forests, farmlands, suburbs, parks; sheltered areas with fruit on trees (winter).
The Robin, a member of the thrush family, is one of the most neighborly of birs. A pair will often build their nest—a neat cup of mud and grasses—on a branch of a dooryeard tree or on the ledge of a porch; and they hunt confidently for earthworms on the lawn and in the garden, regardless of human activities nearby. What they are looking for are the wireworms and crane-fly larvae that you have most certainly brought to the surface while turning the soil. Robins eat insects as well as worms; they also like fruits, both wild and cultivated.
Sneaking quietly into her newly complete nest at dawn, a female robin lays a single pale blue egg in the mud-and-grass cup, then steals awya again. she will return every morning for several days, depositing one egg each time until her clutch of four or five is complete.
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