A practical guide to bird watching in Sonoma County, California
(Unless otherwise indicated, all phone numbers are in the 707 area code)
One of the most familiar of North American birds to birders and non-birders alike. In the eastern United States, common as a lawn bird, typically hopping around looking for food early in the morning. In Sonoma County, present year round, but becomes more common in the winter, with numbers boosted by migrants that come down from Canada and Alaska to enjoy our mild winters. Common in suburban settings, wooded areas, and farmland. Often in small (sometimes quite large) flocks. Fond of berries in the autumn and winter.
Easily identified by its rufous breast and belly and grey back, females paler than males. The white eye ring and dark striping on a white throat are less commonly remembered field marks. Head and tail darker than the rest of the upper body, usually with white at the outer corners of the tail, but some birds lack the white. White on lower belly and under tail. Juveniles have a speckled breast washed with rufous and tend to have a somewhat scruffy look. Unlikely to be confused with any other bird. Closest similar-looking species may be Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius), but that bird lacks the white eye ring, has an orange stripe over its eye, and sports a wide V-like band across the breast that is gray in the female, darker in the male. Varied thrush also has orange wing bars and other patterning on the wings lacking in American Robin.
Further reading:
Bolander and Parmeter, Birds of Sonoma County California, rev. ed., 2000, p. 97
Brinkley, National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America, 2007, p. 394
Burridge, ed., Sonoma County Breeding Bird Atlas, 1995, p. 135
Dunn and Alderfer, eds., National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 5th ed., 2006, p. 360
Dunn and Alderfer, eds., National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 6th ed., 2011, p. 402
Dunne, Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion, 2006, pp. 503-504
Ehrlich, Dobkin, and Wheye, The Birder's Handbook, paperback edition, 1988, p. 462
Fix and Bezener, Birds of Northern California, 2000, p. 301
Floyd, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 2008, p. 358
Kaufman, Field Guide to Birds of North America, 2000, p. 252
Kaufman, Field Guide to Advanced Birding, 2011, pp. 78, 106
Lukas, Bay Area Birds: From Sonoma County to Monterey Bay, 2012, pp. 229-230
Parmeter and Wight, Birds of Sonoma County California, Update (2000-2010), 2012, p. 58
Peterson, Birds of Eastern and Central North America, 5th ed., 2002, p. 244
Peterson, Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, 4th ed., 2010, p. 292
Peterson, Western Birds, 3rd ed., 1990, p. 274
Sibley, Field Guide to Birds of Western North America,1st ed., 2003, p. 345
Stokes, Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 1st ed., 2010, p. 566
Vuilleumier, American Museum of Natural History, Birds of North America: Western Region, 2011, p. 329
Voice: Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds--American Robin
© Colin Talcroft, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013.
Unless noted, all photos by the author. If you would like to use one of my images, please ask for permission for non-commercial use with proper credit or commercial use with proper compensation.
America Robin, Petaluma, November 8, 2011
America Robin (female), Petaluma, November 8, 2011
America Robin (female), Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, December 2, 2012
An unusually pale individual
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
1990-2013 Sonoma County data. Graph provided by eBird (www.ebird.org), generated June 5, 2013
EBird reported occurrence in Sonoma County