Turdus migratorius
grrlscientist | January 24, 2008tags: American robin, Turdus migratorius, birds, NYC, Central Park, Image of the Day
American robin, Turdus migratorius, among berries.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [larger size].
The photographer writes: A surprising number of people assume that all American Robins migrate south for the winter. We've all heard the expression suggesting that winter is over when we see the "first robin of Spring" when in fact a portion of the species remains with us all winter long. In Central Park, for example, every winter I find about two dozen robins foraging along the southern and western…
grrlscientist | November 3, 2007tags: NYC Life, Turdus migratorius, American robins, Image of the Day
Water was flying in all directions from rain filled indentations on Warbler Ridge in Central Park as a flock of American Robins enthusiastically took advantage of several temporary birdbaths after the rain ended.
Image: Bob Levy, author of Club George. [Wallpaper size]
grrlscientist | September 12, 2007tags: birds, "white" American Robin, Turdus migratorius, Image of the Day
"White" American Robin, Turdus migratorius, on a sidewalk in Casper, Wyoming.
Image: Norma Brown. [wallpaper size].
I am going to speculate here, but I think that, because this bird is pale colored everywhere it would normally be brown, grey or black, this bird's melanin-producing gene(s) have been deactivated. However, because the bird's breast is red, as is typical for this species, carotenoids (red pigments obtained from the bird's diet) are still being added to the bird's feathers when they are growing, as normal…