Life List 005
Portfolio in progress
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
- First photographed
- June 19, 2026
- First location
- Fountain, Colorado, United States
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
The encounter
Field journal
I first recorded the American Robin on my birding life list on December 17, 2025, in Colorado Springs. My first opportunity to photograph the species came six months later, on June 19, 2026, during a solo birding trip in Fountain. It was my first morning in the field with the new camera and lens I had purchased as my first serious investment in photography. An American Robin perched nearby, giving me the opportunity to make some of the first photographs with equipment I had deliberately chosen to help me grow. The encounter mattered not because the robin was rare, but because it marked a personal beginning. Bird photography was becoming more than a casual interest—it was something I had decided to pursue seriously. These early portraits became the first visual documentation of American Robin and Visual Life List No. 005.
An evolving study
American Robin portfolio
This collection grows as I return to photograph new behavior, habitat, seasons, and stages of life.
Return visits
The journal continues
New chapters are added here as I encounter this species again across seasons, places, and years.
On July 1, 2026, I photographed a juvenile American Robin, adding the first young bird to this species portfolio. Its spotted breast and mottled plumage introduced a new stage of life to the visual record and showed how different an American Robin can look before acquiring its familiar adult plumage.
On July 17, 2026, I photographed an adult American Robin moving through shallow water, documenting wading behavior for the first time in this portfolio. The encounter expanded the visual record beyond perched portraits and introduced a closer look at how the species moves through and uses a waterside environment.
Natural history
Species at a glance
Turdus migratorius
Overview
American Robins are familiar and adaptable thrushes found across North America. Recognizable by their warm orange underparts and upright posture, they are equally at home on neighborhood lawns, in city parks, and across wild forests and mountain landscapes. Their musical songs are among the most familiar sounds of spring and early summer.
Identification
The American Robin is a large, round-bodied thrush with long legs, a fairly long tail, and a yellow bill. Its upperparts are gray-brown, while the breast and belly are warm orange. Adult males generally have darker heads and richer coloring; females and immature birds are often paler, with less contrast between the head and back. A broken white eye ring and streaked white throat provide additional identification marks.
Range
American Robins occur across nearly all of North America. They are residents or short-distance migrants in much of the United States, while many birds breeding in Canada and Alaska move south during winter. Wintering robins may travel as far south as Mexico and the Gulf Coast.
Habitat
This highly adaptable species inhabits lawns, fields, gardens, parks, pastures, open woodlands, forests, mountains, recently burned areas, and tundra. During winter, robins often concentrate in wooded areas containing berry-producing trees and shrubs.
Diet
American Robins eat earthworms, insects, spiders, snails, fruits, and berries. Invertebrates make up much of their spring and summer diet, while fruit becomes increasingly important during fall and winter. Robins commonly forage by running or hopping across the ground, stopping frequently to watch and listen for prey.
Order
Family
Regions documented
From the field
The robin was photographed while it perched naturally during my birding trip. Its location is shared broadly as Fountain, Colorado.
Photography by Brittany Templin