Thursday, March 19, 2009

Robins

The British robin is a loveable, unassuming little fellow with a red breast; the epitome of the plucky, minding-his-own-business, English underdog.

His brash New World cousin, Turdus migratorius (I swear that's its real name!), is not only the state bird of Michigan. The American robin is a veritable behemoth with a huge, rust-coloured beer-belly, weighing in at twice the size of its European counterpart.

Putting the two robins side-by-side is just like comparing an American footballer to a rugby player.

And do you know what they call our robin? An "Old World Flycatcher"!

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