Sunshine Robin by PK HyperFocal
PK captured this photo of an American robin soaking up the sun the other day. See more in their Feathers gallery on Flickr.
Much more about robins on Michigan in Pictures!
Sunshine Robin
Bring on the Spring!
I saw a robin yesterday & have decided that Spring would be a very good idea. Who’s with me?
I know this guy Charles caught at Kensington Metropark the other day is! Head over to Charles’s Flickr for more including a few more great bird shots!
More birds & more Spring on Michigan in Pictures.
#TBT A Blue Like No Other: Why are robin eggs blue?
A Blue Like No Other by Jamie MacDonald
Here’s a Throwback Thursday from April of 2009 in honor of Spring, which I hear is still happening. The resource on the initial post is no longer online, so I dug up this post from The Spruce explaining why robin eggs are blue:
The color of an eggshell is determined by pigments deposited as the shell is formed in the shell gland. The shell gland is the avian equivalent of a mammal’s uterus and is near the end of the oviduct, just before the cloaca. The shell is formed just before the egg is laid.
The bile pigment biliverdin is responsible for blue tones in bird eggs. Depending on the concentration of the pigment, the coloration can range from bright, bold blue or blue-green to pale ice blue and every shade in between. Smaller eggs and those laid first in a brood are usually more intensely colored than larger eggs or those laid later in the nesting cycle.
In addition to coloring eggshells, biliverdin is also responsible for blue tones in moth and butterfly wings, and is the same pigment that makes bruises turn bluish-green.
Read on for more and see a bunch more awesome shots in Jamie’s Nature photo album.
Perched Robin
Perched Robin, photo by matt.swope
Top of the morning to you from Michigan’s state bird, the American robin!
View Matt’s photo background big and see more in his Northern Michigan slideshow.
More Michigan birds and more spring wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.
Michigan’s State Bird: The American Robin
American Robin by ShannenOMalley
“WHEREAS, A widely and generally conducted contest to choose a State bird, carried on by the Michigan Audubon Society, resulted in nearly 200,000 votes being cast, of which Robin Red Breast received many more votes than any other bird as the most popular bird in Michigan; and WHEREAS, The robin is the best known and best loved of all the birds in the State of Michigan; therefore BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (THE SENATE CONCURRING), That the robin be and the same is hereby designated and adopted as the official State bird of the State of Michigan.”
~Michigan House & Concurrent Resolution, April 8, 1931
A sign of spring in Michigan is the sighting of your first robin. Like daffodils, they’ve showed up early this year. American Robin (Turdus migratorius) at All About Birds has some great facts and photos about our state bird:
The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter…
- An American Robin can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young. Only 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November. From that point on, about half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next. Despite the fact that a lucky robin can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years.
- Although robins are considered harbingers of spring, many American Robins spend the whole winter in their breeding range. But because they spend more time roosting in trees and less time in your yard, you’re much less likely to see them. The number of robins present in the northern parts of the range varies each year with the local conditions.
- Robins eat a lot of fruit in fall and winter. When they eat honeysuckle berries exclusively, they sometimes become intoxicated.
- Robin roosts can be huge, sometimes including a quarter-million birds during winter. In summer, females sleep at their nests and males gather at roosts. As young robins become independent, they join the males. Female adults go to the roosts only after they have finished nesting.
- Robins eat different types of food depending on the time of day: more earthworms in the morning and more fruit later in the day. Because the robin forages largely on lawns, it is vulnerable to pesticide poisoning and can be an important indicator of chemical pollution.
- The oldest recorded American Robin was 13 years and 11 months old.
Read on for more including the various songs of the robin and some video. More photos and info from Turdus migratorius (American robin) at UM Animal Diversity Web and at American Robin on Wikipedia. Also don’t miss A blue like no other: Robin’s Egg Blue on Michigan in Pictures.
More Michigan state symbols on Michigan in Pictures.
Michigan in Pictures 