22 May 2010

Tame Robin

Whilst out portable in Devon last week I was "visited" by this very tame robin who came so close he ate an ant from my hand. I was able to take a really close-up picture from about 20cms away. In the USA the American robin is a totally different, and larger, thrush sized bird. In the UK it is not uncommon for robins to be so tame they will come very close to you when gardening and they can be trained to eat from your hand. There was a good book called "The Life of the Robin" by David Lack published by Fontana in their New Naturalist series. This is no longer in print.

4 comments:

goody said...

Nice bird! Yes, robins here in the states are quite different. They're the least friendly birds around here. They let you know when you're too close to their nest or their young hopping around on the ground. We have a few adolescent robins clumsily flying around this week.

Paul M0PCZ said...

Hi Roger, yes the Robin's here in the UK are very friendly, we get them in our garden, they are very inquisitive and interested in what you are doing.

Alan Yates said...

Nice photograph Roger!

Birds amaze me, their metabolism and intelligence packed into such tiny machines. Smaller birds in particular must be really pushing their energy budgets.

Unknown said...

Our garden may be too small for antennas but it is home to many small birds and their goings-on is better than a soap opera. We have a bullfinch couple this year and I really must try to get a picture of them.