Robins in Springtime

Does your yard feel like invasion of the robins? Ours does! We realize many robins stay year round, but our backyard robins must have gone to St. George for the winter, because they have returned en masse to Alpine, unlike some of our fair-weathered neighbors, who just can't seem to tear themselves away from the land of eternal golf quite yet! While some robins may migrate great distances, others just hang around locally all year as long as they can find food. Some might even just migrate short distances as they search for food.

Females have orange colored breasts and gray feathers

Males have rust colored chests and black feathers

Judging by the shape of our spring robins, one would think they've found a worm feast in our yards. They look like they're ready to lay a giant clutch of eggs, and their stomachs are swollen to prove it! NOT SO! It turns out they're just trying to keep warm! On chilly days they puff out their feathers to keep warm. This puffing fluffs out their down feathers, giving some insulation to help the poor robin maintain its body temperature. Sometimes the puffing could be a male establishing his territory, or just showing off for the ladies!

Unlike humans, robins are not mammals and do not get pregnant at all! They lay eggs, which does not cause them to swell up. It is possible to distinguish a male from a female robin, but not by the size of their spring stomachs. The males have longer wing and tail feathers, and deeper rust-colored chests that extend further down his body. They also have blacker feathers. The female will be more subtle, with grayer feathers and an orange chest color that might extend only partly down the breast. 

So, next time you see a fat robin in your yard, just take it out a tiny sweater. It's just trying to keep warm!