SCOTLAND - BIRD SIGHTINGS - WESTERN ISLES

The lovely bird, the robin is about the size of a sparrow. It has of course as everyone knows a magnificent red breast. Both the males and females have the red breasts., bordered by pale blue-grey feathers. The upperparts are an olive brown. These birds are rotund with large dark eyes

Younger birds have a mottled breast turning to red after moult. Late in the summer the adult birds the robins have a pre-breeding moult, during which time they become very secretive and are difficult to see.

14 cm (5.5")

Woods, hedgerows, parks and gardens.

These lovely birds seen in The Western Isles feed on insects and their larvae, spiders, worms and berries.

These birds the lovely robins - seen around the Western isles as well as all over Scotland and the UK - have a lovely voice and sings throughout most of the year, and regularly at night (when sometimes confused with nightingale).

They sing like twiddle-oo, twiddle-eedee, twiddle-oo twiddle. In the winter, it can sound wistful, some say mournful, but around Christmas time the song becomes stronger and more passionate.

The robins can be heard here on THe Isle of Lewis and Harris - singing all through the night and this often leads to them being incorrectly identified as a Nightingale.

When protecting their territories, robins display their red breasts with vigour to any potential intruders.Its the female robin who chases the male robin until he accepts her. Then the male can be seen feeding his female as a courtship ritual.

The nest is made of leaves, moss and grass. There will be 4 or 5 eggs sometimes even 6 or 7. The eggs are creamy white spotted with red. Incubation is by the female only. The young are fed by both the male and the female adult birds.

The robin is pugnacious, fighting with its own kind and attacking other birds. British robins are joined in the winter months by migrants from the Continent - these birds are actually more timid than the British Robin and are paler than the British birds with a duller red breast.

Everybody thinks of this bird as a Christmas bird - but it can be seen all the year round although the robins are rarely seen or heard during midsummer (July-August) when they are moulting and become rather retiring.

The male and the female robins are territorial and will even attack a bundle of red feathers or their own reflection as they make the error of mistaking it for another individual.