Some brief details of the Christmas Robin

Robins migrate to try and find less cold weather, sometimes from Scandinavia. Formerly classed as a member of the Thrush family, they are now regarded as “The Old World Flycatcher”.  Both males and females have the eye catching red breast. Also to be found in Western Siberia and South to North Africa, the robin is mainly found in Europe.

There is an American Robin – still regarded as a type of Thrush and Australasian robins of the family Petrocidae.  In British and some French folklore the Robin features strongly.  It was once thought sacred to Thor – God of Thunder.  Now strongly associated with Christmas, since the mid 19th century the Robin has been on Christmas cards and on postage stamps.

The red breast is associated with Jesus dying on the cross, when a formerly all brown bird came to sing in his ear to give him assistance and his blood dripped onto his breast.  The association of Christmas though is more probably associated with postmen in Victorian England, who wore red jackets and were nicknamed “robins” which led bit by bit to robins finding their way onto Christmas cards.  In the 1960’s a vote published in The Times named the Robin the unofficial national bird of the UK.  In 2015 it was again voted national bird in a poll organised by birdwatcher David Lindo.