Photographs - © Walter Bauer, Sugar Land, Texas - 1998
(Click on picture to enlarge)
Field
Marks: A very familiar bird which is recognized by its gray back and
brick-red breast. In the male, the head and tail are blackish and in the female
grayer. The bill is yellow. A young robin has speckled breast, but a gray back
and rusty underparts. Robins walk on lawns with erect stance. They can be seen
using their beak to overturn old grass to try and find morsels to eat.
Voice: Song, a clear caroling; short
phrases, rising and falling, often long continued. The notes are like, tyeep and
tut-tut-tut.
Where found: Limit of trees in Alaska,
Canada south to Southern Mexico and the Gulf States. Migrates from Northern
Sections.
Texas: Winters (Nov-May) throughout.
Breeds in the east, north and central parts of Texas; west at least to Fort
Worth, Waco, Austin; and south to bay City, Victoria, and San Antonio. Also
locally in the mountains of west Texas, in western panhandle, and at Midland.
Habitat: Farms, towns, croplands, woodland borders, etc.
Nest: A mud-walled, grass lined ucp, usually in a tree. The eggs are from 3-5 blue-green. Lays (2-3) white.