European Robin

The European Robin is a solitary and territorial bird. Perched, it adopts an upright attitude, sometimes raising its tail and lowering its wings while bowing on its fairly sturdy legs. It uses its red breast as a warning and does not hesitate to display it on all occasions when it is necessary for him to assert his rights, real or usurped. Male territorials confront each other this way, chest high, while vocalizing abundantly to defend the boundaries of their domain. Even in the bad season, robins breast to defend a food territory and vigorously pursue intruders to drive them beyond the invisible boundaries they have set.

At the time of reproduction, males sing perched prominently on a branch to be well seen by their congeners. In a thicket, it is not easy to spot them, but in semi-open high altitude for example, they can perch on the summit of a small clear conifer and thus become well visible. Otherwise, it is a rather bold bird, and sometimes even confiding. It is quite common, for example, for the robin to approach a person gardening or splitting wood in the forest, eager to swoop down on the disturbed worm or insect. It can sometimes be so confident that it can land on the spade or ax of the worker and even on his boot when he rests. One cannot help but think of a bird from a deep northern forest that had never been confronted with man and the danger he can represent for him. In winter always, it is often seen near dwellings. He sometimes penetrates barns, sheds and other confined places. The robin feeds on the ground. It detects its prey from a low perch and captures it after a short approach flight.Unlikely, this bird moves around on the ground by hopping and examining the earth's surface. The European Robin is an unsocial bird and not in the least gregarious. We never see it in groups, even in areas with high specific density. It migrates alone and at night, and on days of great migration, one can see in the morning many recently arrived European Robins in one given place, yet never forming an organized group. On the contrary, they show between themselves a certain kind of aggressiveness. Territorial quarrels can last up to serious beak-to-beak fights, but usually without a fatal outcome.