European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
European Robin · Scotney Castle · 3 May 2026
A robin singing from a rhododendron bud at Scotney in early May, holding a territory in the garden as it does all year. Robins are birds of woodland edge across Europe, and in Britain they have moved into every garden in the country.
Both sexes sing, which is unusual. The autumn song is thinner and sadder than the spring one, and is aimed at defending a winter feeding patch rather than attracting anything. The tameness is real, not an illusion: in Britain robins follow gardeners for the worms a spade turns up, a habit thought to descend from following wild boar as they rooted through leaf litter. In much of continental Europe, where they were long trapped for food, they stay in the woods and keep their distance.
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