American robin
Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a bird in the family Turdidae and order Passeriformes, belonging to the subgroup of songbirds and other perching birds. It falls in the small size class, with an adult body mass of 78.5 g and reported values from 75 g to 84.9 g.
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Quick facts about the American robin
Its diet category is invertivore and its trophic level is omnivore; it is a migratory bird of forest habitat with a generalist foraging lifestyle and a geographic range of 16,460,000 km². Clutches hold 3.43 eggs, with 2.5 clutches per year and a 13-day incubation period; it reaches sexual maturity at 364.6 days and has a lifespan of 13.92 years, with values up to 17 years.
- Weight
- 75 g – 84.9 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 13.9 years – 17 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 13 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.43src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Lifestyle
- Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the American robin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the American robin live?
Not recorded
What is the American robin?
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific coast.
According to the Partners in Flight database (2019), the American robin is the most abundant landbird in North America (with 370 million individuals), ahead of red-winged blackbirds, introduced European starlings, mourning doves and house finches. It has seven subspecies.
The species is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates (such as beetle grubs, earthworms, and caterpillars), fruits, and berries. It is one of the earliest bird species to lay its eggs, beginning to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from its winter range. The robin's nest consists of long coarse grass, twigs, paper, and feathers and is smeared with mud and often cushioned with grass or other soft materials. It is among the earliest birds to sing at dawn, and its song consists of several discrete units that are repeated.
The adult's main predator is the domestic cat; other predators include hawks and snakes. When feeding in flocks, it can be vigilant, watching other birds for reactions to predators. Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) lay their eggs in robin nests (see brood parasite), but the robins usually reject the egg.
From the Wikipedia article “American robin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_robin&oldid=1381598590), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the American robin sound like?
Is the American robin endangered?
The American robin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the American robin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyTurdidae
- genusTurdus
- SpeciesTurdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766
Synonyms Merula migratoria
Other names and names in other languages (86)
- Canadian thrushEnglish
- Migratory thrushEnglish
- Red robinEnglish
- Red-breasted thrushEnglish
- Robin redbreastEnglish
- Robin thrushEnglish
- ChíiskokkoAlabama
- سمنة أمريكي شماليArabic
- Torda capezinegraAragonese
- سمنه امريكى شمالىEgyptian Arabic
- Gəzərgi qaratoyuqAzerbaijani
- Ръждивогуш дроздBulgarian
- Странстващ дроздBulgarian
- Moualc'h-AmerikaBreton
- griva americanaCatalan
- ᏥᏍᏉᏉCherokee
- ᏴᏩᏁᎬ ᏥᏉᏉCherokee
- Ma'êšenévé'késoCheyenne
- roozh gorzhMichif
- drozd stěhovavýCzech
- Robin AmericaWelsh
- VandredrosselDanish
- WanderdrosselGerman
- Αμερικανική ΤσίχλαGreek
- Αμερικανικός ΚοκκινολαίμηςGreek
- migra turdoEsperanto
- Nordamerika RobinoEsperanto
- Zorzal robínSpanish
- Mirlo primaveraSpanish
- Zorzal AmericanoSpanish
- Zorzal MigratorioSpanish
- punarind-rästasEstonian
- Zozo papargorriBasque
- سینهسرخ آمریکاییPersian
- punarintarastasFinnish
- stroktrøsturFaroese
- Rouge gorgeFrench
- Merle d'AmériqueFrench
- Merle d’AmériqueFrench
- Rouge-gorge d'AmériqueFrench
- Smólach fánachIrish
- Smólach ImirceIrish
- smeòrachScottish Gaelic
- Treshlen AmericaanaghScottish Gaelic
- קיכלי נודדHebrew
- אדום חזה אמריקאיHebrew
- קיכלי אדום-חזהHebrew
- američki kosCroatian
- vándorrigóHungarian
- Robin AmerikaIndonesian
- FarþrösturIcelandic
- Tordo migratore americanoItalian
- コマツグミJapanese
- მომთაბარე შაშვიGeorgian
- 미국지빠귀Korean
- 아메리카지빠귀Korean
- strazdas klajoklisLithuanian
- sk̓ʷəqiqlut
- ceļotājstrazdsLatvian
- jipjawejMi'kmaw
- അമേരിക്കൻ റോബിൻMalayalam
- ꯑꯃꯦꯔꯤꯀꯥꯟ ꯔꯣꯕꯤꯟManipuri
- Murai AmerikaMalay
- Téél halchíʼíNavajo
- RoodborstlijsterDutch
- vandretrastNorwegian Nynorsk
- vandretrostNorwegian
- Migranti turdeNovial
- AmschelPennsylvania German
- drozd wędrownyPolish
- tordo-americanoPortuguese
- Sturz cu piept roșuRomanian
- Странствующий дроздRussian
- RuksesrásttisNorthern Sami
- drozd sťahovavýSlovak
- taščični drozgSlovenian
- Амерички РобинSerbian
- Crvenogrudi drozdSerbian
- vandringstrastSwedish
- Göçmen ArdıçTurkish
- Amerika nar bülbülüTurkish
- дрізд мандрівнийUkrainian
- Chim cổ đỏVietnamese
- ćidó∙dokhuWasho
- 旅鶇Chinese
- 旅鸫Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the American robin
Other species in the same genus Turdus.
Common blackbird
Turdus merula
Song thrush
Turdus philomelos
Fieldfare
Turdus pilaris
Mistle thrush
Turdus viscivorus
Ring ouzel
Turdus torquatus
Redwing
Turdus iliacus
CompareAmerican robin vs Common blackbirdAmerican robin vs Song thrushAmerican robin vs FieldfareAmerican robin vs Mistle thrush
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the American robin?
The American robin is a bird in the family Turdidae and order Passeriformes, in the subgroup of songbirds and other perching birds.
How heavy is the American robin?
An adult American robin weighs 78.5 g, with reported values from 75 g to 84.9 g, placing it in the small size class.
What does the American robin eat?
The American robin is classed as an invertivore by diet category, with a trophic level of omnivore.
Is the American robin endangered?
No. The American robin is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the American robin live?
The American robin has a lifespan of 13.92 years, with values up to 17 years reported.
How many eggs does the American robin lay?
The American robin lays 3.43 eggs per clutch, with 2.5 clutches per year and an incubation period of 13 days.
What habitat does the American robin use?
The American robin is a forest bird with a generalist foraging lifestyle, and it is migratory.
Who named the American robin?
The American robin was named Turdus migratorius by Linnaeus, 1766.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). American robin (Turdus migratorius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-robin
“American robin (Turdus migratorius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-robin.
@misc{american_robin_2026,
title = {American robin (Turdus migratorius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-robin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}