The American Robin is one of the most common birds in North America.
You’ve probably seen one in your backyard or been woken up by one before sunrise.
But did you know this iconic bird is also Wisconsin’s state bird?
For this month’s Chirp Chat, Lake Effect’s Xcaret Nuñez spoke with Aubrey Fulsaas, an environmental educator and the family program’s lead at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.
She shares facts about the American Robin and how it became a symbol for the state.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did the American Robin become Wisconsin's state bird?
The American Robin became our state bird going all the way back in 1926, when the state Federation of Women's Clubs sponsored a bird study program in Wisconsin public schools. They basically sponsored a program so children can learn more about the birds that they see in their neighborhoods. Part of that program was allowing the kids to vote for a state bird, and the American Robin received twice as many votes as any other bird. So it was really those school children who chose it in 1926, but it did not become the official state bird by government decree until [June 4, 1949].
There are a couple of other states, Michigan and Connecticut, that also have the American Robin as [their state bird]. And the American Robin can be found in almost every single state in the United States. It's also found all over the continent of North America, so pretty much any state could lay a claim to it, if they wanted to.
What are some of the characteristics of an American Robin?
It's one of our larger songbirds, and it's very visible, especially in the spring and summer, because it is a ground forager. So it's going to be hopping around the ground — it really loves short grasses — and it's part of the thrush family. It's closely related to birds like bluebirds and some of our more elusive birds, like the wood thrush and hermit thrush, which you can only really find tucked away in the forest. [The American Robin] has a bright orangish underbelly, chest and belly, and then slate gray wings and a darker head.
The big visual difference is that the females are a little bit more pale, so they're not quite as bold in coloration. Their heads are a little bit lighter, as opposed to the kind of dark, almost black, heads of the male. But you have to pause and watch them for a while to tell [them apart], although it is only the females that sit on the nest. So if you do see a nest, it's going to be the mom on the eggs.
Thrushes are also really known for their music, the songs that they make. And part of the reason they're able to do that is they are able to sing using multiple vocal cords, so they can sing multiple notes at once and kind of layer them on top of each other to create this really melodious, warbling sound. It's a very clear tone, very beautiful, lots of different notes that go in between.
What do American Robins eat?
Robins have two main food groups. They eat a lot of softer invertebrates, so think earthworms, slugs, things like that. They also really love berries. So in the spring and summer, once the ground thaws, they're gonna be all over the ground searching for those worms that they're able to peck out with their beak. And they search for them using visual cues. But there are some studies that think that they listen for the worms as well. It's kind of a really hot debate in the science world — scientists are trying to figure out how exactly do robins know where those worms are underground.
Are American Robins really the first sign of spring? What are their migration patterns?
Robins do migrate, but their migration can be anywhere from a really short migration distance, where they flock together and hang out in the woods, as opposed to in a park or a backyard, or it can be a long migration where they travel from Canada all the way down to the southern United States. It really depends on the kind of bird and the region that they're in. So in our area of [Southeastern] Wisconsin, we do see them all year long. We just see them in different habitats.
So in the wintertime, we will get flocks of 15 to 20 robins who will hang out deep in the forest, and that's because they're looking for berries. So they're going to be moving to where the food is. They might have to travel a little bit further away to get to those berries, because that's mainly their source of food in the wintertime.
Robins are also some of the earliest nesters, which is why people think of them as a sign of spring, because they are one of the first songbirds to start breeding. So you start to hear them sing in March, and they're already laying eggs by April.
Why are American Robins so abundant?
Robins are a great story of adaptation. They love foraging in short grass. And think of how much short grass we have now in our backyards, in our parks, pretty much everywhere… so they've really adapted well to being in urban and suburban environments. Now, normally they'll build their nests in shorter trees, but they can also build them on eaves or in gutters. They're really not too picky about where they're building their nests, which also helps them adapt. So they really can be found in a lot of areas that humans have kind of taken over. We haven't really pushed them out.
Another reason [they’re so abundant] is because they can have one to three broods of babies a year. So they can raise three different sets of babies in a season, whereas a lot of other songbirds maybe only raise one. So that just also really helps their numbers out.
[But their healthy population] wasn’t always the case. Along with a lot of other birds, robins saw a big drop in their populations due to DDT, a common pesticide that was used pre-1970 because it affected bugs. And as we know, that's the main diet for robins, and that's what they're feeding their chicks… so that caused a great decline in their populations.
But with the banning of DDT, and with their ability to adapt to urban areas, robin populations have really rebounded. Now, they do still face some issues with pesticides because they're foraging in people's lawns. So if people are using a lot of pesticides or herbicides in their lawns, that can also affect the robins.
Chirp Chat’s Bird of the Month for June
Although she does love the American Robin, Fulsaas says if she had to pick a new state bird, she would choose the Mallard.
“I personally would love if our state bird could be reflective of our relationship with the water, our relationship with the Great Lakes, with all of our different lakes and ponds and rivers, Fulsaas says. “But I would also want it to be accessible [like the American Robin ]... It's a tough [decision to make] because you want it to be something that people can see, but you still want it to be special to our state.
“Mallards are kind of the quintessential wild duck. The males have that bright green head, and the females are a little bit more brown, drab-colored, and they are very common in our waterways. They do migrate, but they can also stick around if they can get enough food because they're omnivores. So you really can find them in some places all year long if the water is not frozen. And ducklings are just some of the cutest birds you can see.”
