Common Name: American Robin
Scientific Name: Turdus migratorius
Order/Family: Passeriformes/Turdidae (Thrushes)
Subspecies: Seven subspecies of American robin are recognized. These subspecies intergrade with each other and are only weakly defined. The one in Las Vegas is the Western Robin (Turdus migratorius propinquus).
Description: The head varies from jet black to gray, with white eye arcs and white supercilia. The throat is white with black streaks, and the belly and undertail coverts are white. The American robin has a brown back and a reddish-orange breast, varying from a rich red maroon to peachy orange. The bill is mainly yellow with a variably dark tip, the dusky area becoming more extensive in winter, and the legs and feet are brown. The sexes are similar, but females tend to be duller in color than males, with a brown tint to the head, brown upperparts, and less-bright underparts.
Distribution: The American robin breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico. While robins occasionally overwinter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada, most migrate to winter south of Canada from Florida and the Gulf Coast to central Mexico, as well as along the Pacific Coast.
Habitat: The American robin’s breeding habitat is woodland and more open farmland and urban areas.
The female typically lays two to four light blue eggs – about the size and weight of a quarter. The female incubates the eggs over a two-week period and both parents care for the young. The eggs take around two weeks to hatch and the chicks will fledge when they are about 14 to 16 days old. The female may have two broods a year. The young are born with their eyes shut and first open their eyes around five days after hatching.
