Turdidae · reviewed profile

American Robin

Turdus migratorius

The american robin (Turdus migratorius) is the large orange-breasted thrush of lawns and parks across the continent — and, contrary to the "first robin of spring" tradition, a bird many people have all year without noticing ¹.

This profile draws on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's All About Birds accounts ¹² and on eBird records from the nine states covered on this site ³.

American robin standing on a lawn, showing the orange breast and gray-brown back — Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

23–28 cmSize

gray-brown, orange, whiteColors

Earthworms, insects, and fruitUseful feeder foods

lawn, park, garden, open woodlandHabitat

American robin identification and behavior

On the ground a robin runs a few steps, then stops abruptly; in long grass it may hop or fly just above the ground with slow, powerful wingbeats. Robins find worms by staring motionless at the ground with the head cocked, and will fight over worms other robins have caught ². In spring, males attract females by singing, raising and spreading the tail, shaking the wings and inflating the white-striped throat ².

Robins eat different foods at different times of day — more earthworms in the morning, more fruit later — and when they feed exclusively on honeysuckle berries they sometimes become intoxicated ¹.

American robin habitat and range, and why they seem to vanish in winter

Robins are common across the continent on lawns, fields and city parks as well as in woodlands, forests, mountains up to near treeline, recently burned forests and tundra; in winter many move to moist woods where berry-producing trees and shrubs are common ².

Many robins spend the whole winter in their breeding range, but they spend more time roosting in trees and less on lawns, so you are much less likely to see them; winter roosts can be huge, sometimes a quarter-million birds ¹. How many stay in the north varies each year with local conditions ¹.

American robin diet and feeder foods

Robins eat large numbers of both invertebrates and fruit. In spring and summer they take earthworms, insects and some snails; year-round they eat an enormous variety of fruit including chokecherries, hawthorn, dogwood, sumac and juniper berries, and one study suggests they may select fruits that have bugs in them ².

Because robins forage largely on lawns, they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning and can be an indicator of chemical pollution — the strongest reason to keep a robin-friendly yard pesticide-free ².

American robin nesting

Females choose the site, typically on one or several horizontal branches hidden in or just below a layer of dense leaves, usually in the lower half of a tree; robins also nest in gutters, eaves, on outdoor light fixtures and other structures ². Clutches are 3–5 sky-blue or blue-green eggs, incubated 12–14 days, with the young leaving after about 13 days; a pair can raise 1–3 broods a year ².

Success is low: on average only 40 percent of nests produce young, only a quarter of fledglings survive to November, and about half the robins alive in a year make it to the next, so the whole population turns over about every six years even though a lucky robin can live 14 years ¹.

Conservation status

American robins are numerous and widespread; populations increased slightly, by about 0.13% per year from 1966 to 2019, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Partners in Flight estimates the global breeding population at 370 million and rates the species 5 out of 20 on the Continental Concern Score ².

American Robin by state: eBird records

Across the nine states with eBird occurrence data on this site (records from 2020–2024), the American Robin is reported most often in Michigan, where it ranks #2 among all species with 636,900 records.

MichiganYear-round636,900 records · #2 in state CaliforniaYear-round617,212 records · #26 in state ColoradoYear-round516,018 records · #1 in state OregonYear-round507,905 records · #1 in state TexasYear-round253,801 records · #32 in state TennesseeYear-round240,548 records · #7 in state ArizonaYear-round131,313 records · #44 in state FloridaWinter visitor123,528 recordsActive January–December Rhode IslandYear-round67,250 records · #2 in state

Attracting them to your yard

Serve · best foods

mealworms
fresh or soaked dried fruit
native berries

Plant · useful plants

serviceberry
crabapple
winterberry

Place · best feeders

ground tray
platform feeder

Feeder guide →Plant guide →Attraction guide →

Frequently asked questions

What does an american robin eat?

Earthworms, insects and snails — especially in spring and summer — plus a wide range of fruit such as chokecherry, hawthorn, dogwood, sumac and juniper ².

What is the scientific name of the american robin?

Turdus migratorius. It is a thrush, not a close relative of the European robin ¹.

Do robins migrate?

Some do, but many spend the whole winter in their breeding range, roosting in trees and feeding on fruit rather than on lawns, which is why they seem to disappear ¹.

How long do american robins live?

A lucky robin can reach 14 years, but on average the population turns over every six years ¹.