Press Releases - November/December 2006
Item 10

No. 2006/12/77
December 2006

A Robin is not just for Christmas

Did you know, it is estimated that 5.9 million pairs of Robins breed in the UK? This is just one of the amazing facts, about Robins, from the British Trust For Ornithology. Here are nine more.

1. The oldest recorded Robin in the UK was 8 years and 4 months when it died; it spent its whole life in and around Blackpool. A German Robin holds the European record at 13 years and 3 months.
2. The Robin is Britain’s national bird and was officially declared so in December 1960 in The Times newspaper.
3. The Anglo-Saxon name for the Robin was Ruddock, by the Middle Ages Redbreast was used. In the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries the pet name Robin Redbreast came into use. The use of the plain name of Robin is fairly recent, gaining official acceptance by the British Ornithologists’ Union in 1952.
4. Why do Robins sit on garden spades? The answer is simple. The Robin’s preferred feeding technique is to sit on a low perch and survey an area, and then fly down to take any prey it sees. The garden spade is an ideal perch. As the gardener turns over the soil he or she exposes food such as earthworms, leatherjackets and other grubs.
5. The long distance record for a Robin was of a bird ringed on Fair Isle, Shetland and retrapped in Southern Spain, flying a total distance of 2,600 km.
6. How did the Robin become a symbol of Christmas? A Robin first appeared on a Christmas card in the 1860’s, this bird was depicted delivering an envelope. The postmen at the time wore a red tunic and were nicknamed redbreasts, hence the Robin on the card.
7. Robins have been recorded building nests in lots of odd places, these include, kettles, teapots and gardeners’ coat pockets (not while being worn). One strange bird nested in the engine of a Second World War aeroplane; apparently the engine kept the eggs warm while the plane was in the air. Perhaps one of the oddest nest sites was one recorded in 1820. Two criminals were hung for mail robbery and their bodies left to hang in chains from 1769 to 1820. When they were taken down, a Robin’s nest was found in the skull of one of them.
8. When it is nesting, the Robin can build a very substantial structure in a very short period of time. The fastest on record was a nest in Basingstoke. Between breakfast and lunchtime, an almost complete nest had been built in a gardener’s coat pocket that had been hung up in the tool shed.
9. As the Christmas bird par excellence it seems appropriate to record the Robin which managed to imbibe too much of the Christmas spirit. Some seventy years ago Margaret Holden wrote of the household Robin which, having eaten its share of the plum pudding and brandy sauce, fell off the chair back on which it was resting. Left in a safe place to sleep off the effects, it never touched another drop.

A Robin is not just for Christmas, here are five things you can do for your Robins in 2007.

1. Put up a nestbox, Robins nest in open fronted type nestboxes. http://www.bto.org/notices/nnbw2006(2)
2. Plant a berry-producing shrub; Robins will feed on berries during the winter months.
3. Provide cover in your garden. A garden with shrubs and small bushes will provide a safe haven for breeding Robins.
4. Feed your Robins, mealworms, peanut granules and pinhead oats are favourites.
5. Provide a regular supply of clean water and wash your birdbath frequently.

For more information on Robins visit the BTO website, www.bto.org/birdfacts

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Notes for Editors

1. BTO Nestbox Guide. Provides details about the construction, siting and maintenance of a variety of types of nestbox suitable for those common birds that regularly use boxes. Available from the BTO by telephone, 01842 750050 or by writing to the BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, cost £7.99 plus postage and packing or visit our website on www.bto.org/btos/generalsales

2. CJ WildBird Foods is Europe’s leading supplier of bird food and bird feeding products. CJ WildBird Foods has been responsible for a number of significant developments within the bird food and feeding industry, including the introduction of black sunflower seeds to the UK as a major new bird food and the development of specialist seed mixes for use in tubular feeders. The company has also been supporting research into the changing fortunes of garden bird populations, most notably through the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch.

3. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 16,500 people take part in the project. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is funded by participants’ contributions and supported by CJ WildBird Foods Ltd and is the largest year round survey of garden birds anywhere in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw

4. Images of Robins are freely available for use in association with this press release. Please contact to request an electronic version. Please quote reference number 2006/12/77

5. Bird Information. For lots of facts and figures about garden birds go to www.bto.org/birdfacts

6. The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Paul Stancliffe on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (during office hours)