Birds › City park › European Robin

European Robin

Erithacus rubecula

Follows gardeners to snap up worms they dig up. Both males and females sing to hold a winter territory.

Where to see it for real: Mealworms and suet, and an open-fronted nest box hidden in ivy.

Spot it in the game

Lives in the City park habitat (Europe, in a London park).

European Robin, Erithacus rubecula — Photo: Codrin Bucur, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist. Cut out from the original photo.

European Robin facts

Family: Old World flycatchers
Length: 5.5 in (14 cm)
Wingspan: 8.3 in (21 cm)
Weight: 0.6 oz (18 g)
Diet: Worms, insects and spiders, plus berries and seeds in winter.
Range: Europe, North Africa and western Asia.
Nest: A cup of moss and leaves in a hollow, a bank or an old shed.
Song: A sweet, wistful warble sung all year, sometimes at night under streetlights.
Active: at dawn, by day, at dusk and at night
Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: widespread and not at risk.

What the European Robin sounds like

Recording 1: Christian Kahle, CC0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

Recording 2: Sonothèque ADVL, CC0, original on xeno-canto. Trimmed and cleaned of low background noise.

How to attract the European Robin

Feeder foods, favorite first: mealworms, suet, sunflower seed. Feeders that hold them: platform feeder, suet cage and tube feeder. Keep a bird bath full, too.

In the game: fill a feeder with mealworms, suet and sunflower seed and keep the bird bath full. It is a common visitor.

More: bird songs and calls, birds at night, what to feed birds.