European robin (Erithacus rubecula)

In previous posts, I've pointed out some birds that look the same or very similar to birds back home but are different species. The robin, on the other hand, is a type of bird that shares a name with a bird from home (robin or robin red breast) but they do not resemble each other in any way. I was lucky enough to capture this little one on camera at St James Park, the rusty red catching my eye. My husband was able to identify it right away--he knew they were the English (and as it turns out, European) version of the robin. I was really shocked. At home, our robins are a type of thrush, and in Alberta, there are 3 kinds you'll see: the American robin, the hermit thrush, and the varied thrush. I'm not sure how the robin got its name since the other ones in the thrush family are identified with their proper name. However, the robin here is not really a "true robin," if there even is such a thing, because it is a type of flycatcher. If you have been following my Canada-based bird blog, you'll see I have posted at least one flycatcher there, which is the Eastern Phoebe, so it seems like somehow, flycatchers end up with names that are not really linked to what they are--I don't think there is any bird with the name XXXX flycatcher, for example.

Another thing that seeing and learning about this robin made me realise is that in the following line from a William Blake poem I love, I realised that he and I were thinking of two different robins in our heads when he wrote it and I read it, respectively:

A robin redbreast in a cage

Puts all heaven in a rage.

Who knew?

April 2021

Over the last few months, I've also added to my robin photo collection, and I posted a video under the video tabs so you can hear it singing. For such a tiny bird, it really belts out a loud song. I'm hoping to capture the wren doing the same thing. It's amazing how their voices carry for such small birds!