|
It must be Spring: The Robins are Back! |
|
|
The American Robin is found throughout North America, from extreme northern Canada and as far south as Guatemala. This well-known bird is noted for its habit of feeding in lawns where it finds earthworms (by sight, not sound), and for its cheery voice. Robins are often one of the first birds to sing in the morning, singing long choruses of rhythmic paired phrases of two or three syllables that alternately rise and fall in pitch. The dawn singing is reprised at dusk and occasionally throughout the day.
Once breeding season is over, the Robin of our backyards becomes more furtive and shy. Large nomadic flocks form and range over the countryside in search of berries such as holly, mulberry, sumac, grape, viburnum, and cedar, as they shift from their breeding season diet of insects and earthworms to become wholly vegetarian. By September, many are moving south from the northern parts of the eastern half of the country to winter with southern residents in the Middle Atlantic and Gulf states. In the West, Robins wander broadly in search of food and move generally to areas of lower altitude. But some linger as far north as Canada when food supplies are adequate, so the first robin you see in spring may not have come from too far away.
|
|
Posted by Administrator
Friday, March 14 2008
|
