"Stop calling that bird a robin redbreast, it's a plain, old robin," are words that resonated in my mind when I first started photographing this avian a couple years ago. The childhood chastisements were from the older neighborhood kids who wanted to show how much they knew. While bruising my ego a little, they didn't dampen my interest in this very common and easily identifiable bird in my suburban New Jersey neighborhood.
Many years later and many miles away, and much to my surprise, I also see the bird in my Phoenix neighborhood. I've always associated the robin with green lawns, pulling earth worms from the muddy ground of just watered grasses. It turns out that the irrigated landscape of the desert southwest is an ideal hunting ground for this insect loving avian.
It also turns out that this "robin redbreast" isn't just a plain old robin, it's an American robin. A real robin is actually the European robin, not living in the Americas. And while both sport red breasts, they aren't closely related. The American robin is in the thrush or turdidae family, while the European species is no longer considered part of this family, and is now a member of the Old World flycatchers.
The thrushes have a worldwide distribution, and a number reside in Arizona. More popular than the robin in this area might be the western bluebird and the hermit thrush. The former is seen at the higher elevations of the state and the latter throughout it, like the American robin. Redbreast or not, they are all beautiful birds to see out in the wild.
Many years later and many miles away, and much to my surprise, I also see the bird in my Phoenix neighborhood. I've always associated the robin with green lawns, pulling earth worms from the muddy ground of just watered grasses. It turns out that the irrigated landscape of the desert southwest is an ideal hunting ground for this insect loving avian.
It also turns out that this "robin redbreast" isn't just a plain old robin, it's an American robin. A real robin is actually the European robin, not living in the Americas. And while both sport red breasts, they aren't closely related. The American robin is in the thrush or turdidae family, while the European species is no longer considered part of this family, and is now a member of the Old World flycatchers.
The thrushes have a worldwide distribution, and a number reside in Arizona. More popular than the robin in this area might be the western bluebird and the hermit thrush. The former is seen at the higher elevations of the state and the latter throughout it, like the American robin. Redbreast or not, they are all beautiful birds to see out in the wild.
 |
| American robin in Prescott. |
 |
| American robin in Prescott. |
 |
| American robin in Phoenix. |
 |
| Juvenile American robins in Phoenix. |
 |
| Western bluebird in Flagstaff. |
 |
| Western bluebird in Flagstaff. |
 |
| Adolescent western bluebird in Prescott. |
 |
| Juvenile western bluebird in Prescott. |
 |
| Townsend's solitaire in Flagstaff. |
 |
| Hermit thrush in Prescott. |
Comments
Post a Comment