Favourite Pictures 4

I just can't resist the rich autumn colours. Sue has caught this so well in this picture. Followed

two stunning field shots. THANK YOU SUE!

Picture by Sue Bristo

Picture by Sue Bristo

Picture by Sue Bristo

Beautiful pictures as always! It looks like you've had some nice weather Sue. Just a quicky Sue H, the European robin is also a member of the thrush family, although as Michael Caine would say, ''not a lot of people know that''.. Its' Latin name is 'erithacus rubecula', the thrush families' genuses being 'turdus', 'saxicola', 'oenanthe', 'phoenicurus' and of course 'erithacus'.

The American robin is 'turdus migratorius' and I would think its' nearest European cousin is the redwing, 'turdus iliacus'.

Do the European robins eat earthworms too, Andy?  They look more like a little flycatcher to me.  American robins pull worms from the ground and can actually hear them.  They walk around the and cock their heads listening.  It's really cool to see.

When we think of Thrushes we think  of Blackbirds, Redwings, those big honking bids (compared to the Robin), but the Robin is more like the Chat or Flycatcher. I think there is some debate as to whether it is from the old world chat family or old world flycatcher family. Here is a bit of information I gleaned from another site

 The Genus Erithacus consists of a group of thrush-like true flycatchers and in addition to the robin, includes species such as the nightingale and the Old World chats. The European robin of the British Isles is considered a subspecies, Erithacus rubecula melophilus, and differs slightly in color (having a more vibrant breast coloration and upper parts more olive-brown than grey-brown in color) from the rest of the population throughout mainland Europe (Erithacus rubecula rubecula). http://animals.about.com/od/passerine1/p/europeanrobin.htm

Either way, it's a smashing little bird, and a joy to watch.

Hi Ruth, believe it or not, the robin is reknowned for following large animals and taking small insects and worms from the ground disturbed by the aforementioned. Sue, yes I take your point, although having seen robins in France, Belgium, Germany etc I can't see where this information is coming from, they look exactly the same to me. The trouble nowadays is that we seem to(or the experts do) enjoy finding little subspecies just so they can get their name in a book, in my humble opinion.

In fact, the description I have of the robin is that it has bluish grey on sides of neck and chest...which I would go along with personally. I suppose if I were to generalise I'd place the robin in the 'songbird' category, but it is a tricky one to define!

Great picture Ruth!

Picture by Ruth Gregory

Yes this is fabulous Ruth. And here is another beaut photo of yours of the great Salisbury Cathedral taken I suspect whilst enjoying a cuppa in the cafe. A cuppa with a view!

Picture by Ruth Gregory