European Robin

The robin's tameness in gardens is borrowed behaviour. In the wild it follows large animals such as wild boar, snatching invertebrates from freshly turned earth; the gardener with a spade is simply the modern boar.

It sings nearly all year round, one of very few birds to hold a winter territory, and both sexes sing. Under streetlamps robins will sing deep into the night, which is why they are so often mistaken for nightingales.

Despite the soft appearance, robins defend their ground fiercely. The red breast is a war flag, and a stuffed robin, or even a loose bundle of red feathers, will be attacked on sight.