Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday Foto: American Robin portrait

American RobinAmerican Robin, Beaverton, Oregon, 8 April 2011 by Greg Gillson.

 

The white marks on the face of American Robin don't correspond exactly to full feather tracts as named in the "topology" or "parts of a bird" as listed in your field guides.

There is a white spot on the supralorals, another above and to the back of the eye, and a third below the eye, but beyond the limits of an "eye ring."

Telling male from female robins apart by plumage is not always easy. On average, the head of the male is darker than the female. The bill is usually all yellow on the male, while the female's bill has a dark tip (not always easy to tell after the bird has been digging around in the mud with its bill).

We've discussed American Robins in more detail in the past.