2-3-2017 PEGO MARJAL, ALICANTE - EUROPEAN ROBIN (Erithacus rubecula)

European robins are active during the day, however, they may also hunt insects on moonlit nights or near artificial light at night. These are generally solitary and territorial birds, and males are noted for their highly aggressive territorial behavior.

Baby robins are helpless at birth but reach the size of their parents after just two weeks. Robins fly at 17 to 32 mph. Robin have about 2,900 feathers. Only the male robin sings the "true robin song," and he sings it to declare his personal nesting territory.

But likely the most important reason is that the patch of red feathers serves as a warning to other robins to stay off their patch. Robins are highly territorial birds, and may wish to defend an area because it has good food and water provisions, or is a good place to find mates and raise their young.

European Robins eat seeds and berries during the winter. In summer they feed mostly on ground-dwelling invertebrates, even accompanying gardeners to grab insects and worms exposed by freshly turned soil.

Habitat. European Robins inhabit shaded woodlands ranging from backyard gardens to mossy coniferous forests. In general, this species frequents cool, damp, shady habitats that offer undergrowth for cover, perches for singing, small patches of bare ground for foraging, and walls, banks, or rocks for nesting.