Every time I see an American Robin Turdus migratorius pulling a large earthworm out of the ground I smile. American Robins are a ubiquitous species in much of North America, and were named by early European ornthologists after the Eurasian Robin though the two species are very different and not closely related. Both have a brick-reddish orange breast.
The America Robin is closely related to the European Blackbird, and is in the Turdus genus of thrushes.
Watching a Robin slowly and expertly pull a large worm from the ground is interesting. The Robin will be constantly looking around for potential predators, often dropping the worm for a moment to look back, and then grabbing it again and continuing its pulling.
I think I watched this tug-of-war for a minute or two before the inevitable success by the bird won the battle.
In my area we see American Robins all year around, although it is felt that the birds we see in the winter are different individuals than those who breed here, as the winter birds here likely breed north of here, and the breeders here likely winter in areas more south.
Thanks for following. Good birding.
