Fun Brown Robin Facts For Kids

The brown scrub robin (Cercotrichas signata) is a species of bird found in South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland. The bird is part of the family Muscicapidae and this family of birds includes thrushes, robins, Old World flycatchers, and chats.

The popular North American birds called American robins are part of the family Turdidae and have their range map throughout North America from southern Canada to central Mexico, Alaska, California, and along the Pacific Coast.

All of these bird species are part of the order Passeriformes and are found in abundance throughout the world.

In this article, we will compare both these birds whenever needed as both these are robins of the world. The European robin is also a popular bird species and the American robin is actually named after this bird as both these birds possess a reddish-orange breast.

The brown scrub robin is mostly seen in subtropical dry or moist forests. However, the species is also seen in coastal and evergreen forests. The large range of the birds of the order Passeriformes makes sure that there is no danger currently to the population.

There are two subspecies known of brown scrub robins. While these birds are mostly found in forest habitats, the American robin is commonly seen in lawns and parks in North America. Fruits, berries, insects, and earthworms constitute most of the diet.

The song and calls of the bird are musical at first glance and very melodious, much similar to the song and calls of other robins and chats.

For more relatable content, check out these calliope hummingbird facts and rufous-backed robin facts.

Brown Robin Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a brown robin?

The brown scrub robin is a species of robin bird in the family Muscicapidae. They are part of the African species that are found in open woodland or scrub.

What class of animal does a brown robin belong to?

The brown scrub robin belongs to the class of Aves in the kingdom of Animalia. These robins are part of the order Passeriformes.

How many brown robins are there in the world?

The population of the brown scrub robin is not known. The range map distribution of this species of robin is quite large and there is no danger currently to the population of these birds.

Where does a brown robin live?

The brown scrub robin is found exclusively in South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland. The subspecies Signata is found in Limpopo south to southern KwaZulu-Natal and west along the coast of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, while the subspecies Tongensis is seen in Mozambique, eastern Swaziland, northeastern South Africa, and south to northern KwaZulu-Natal.

The American robin is found in North America from southern Canada to central Mexico, Alaska, California, and along the Pacific Coast.

What is a brown robin's habitat?

The habitat of the brown scrub robin includes subtropical or tropical dry lowland and subtropical or tropical moist lowland. The range map also includes subtropical and tropical moist montane forest habitats, dry savanna, and subtropical and tropical dry shrubland. The beautiful song and calls of this bird are easily heard in different forest habitats.

The American robin on the other hand is found everywhere from woodlands, gardens, orchards, lawns, and fields. These birds sing songs sitting on a tree in these habitats.

As the brown scrub robin is known for foraging on the ground, both these birds are seen nesting and roosting in open ground or short grass.

Dense shrubs and small trees are used to make nests by the American robin as choosing these areas for nests provides the birds with a hiding place for their chicks while in the breeding season.

Who do brown robin live with?

A brown scrub robin is found either in solitary or in pairs. There is no information to say if adult birds along with their juveniles live in flocks.

American robins gather together in the winter grounds and are known to assemble together in large flocks. This is seen mostly in the winter months. During the daytime in the winter, flocks scatter into smaller ones to find food. These birds are less social during summer when the breeding season is finished.

How long does a brown robin live?

The lifespan is not known, however robins are known to have very short lifespans.

How do they reproduce?

The brown scrub robin is monogamous and males and females mate with only each other for the rest of their lives. The eggs laid by the females are white in color.

Two or three eggs are usually laid in a nest made of twigs, dead leaves, and moss. The nest is built in a tree cavity a little above the ground and the same hole in the tree is used for the next nesting season.

During the nesting season, the nest is lined with animal hair and fibers by the female.

The breeding season is from October to January when the eggs are laid and broods emerge. The female alone incubates the eggs for a fortnight.

After they hatch, chicks are fed by both male and female birds. The young, or the juvenile, stays near the nests for few more days and the young leaves the nest after around two weeks.

The nest of the American robin is placed on the ground or high up in trees. The cup-shaped nest is made by the female with care and precision for the three to five eggs every breeding season.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the bird is categorized as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. It has a huge area of occurrence of 216217.2 sq mi (560,000 sq km).

Brown Robin Fun Facts

What do brown robins look like?

This is a large bird with gray-brown overall plumage and bold white tail tips. A white coloration is also seen on the throat and wings.

Cool gray-brown and white color are uniform in the underparts. The bird has gray breast and flanks with shading off-white coloration to the belly and vent. The heads are colored red seen with black bills.

The subspecies Signata has a grayish-brown plumage. However, Tongensis is smaller with an even shorter bill. Paler brown plumage is seen with warmer buff plumage underparts.

The much similar-looking bearded scrub robin has an orange-buff rump, flanks, and breast-band.

How cute are they?

They are considered quite cute because of their beautiful plumage and melodious song.

How do they communicate?

The musical song of this bird is used to communicate. A two-note 'teee-tooo' is heard that is accompanied by a delightfully varied four to seven notes. These birds can even imitate other species.

How big is a brown robin?

The length of the brown scrub robin has a range up to 7.48 in (19 cm). The European robin is a similar species to the North American bird, the American robin, with respect to its plumage. The length of a European robin has a range between 5-5.5 in (12.7-13.9 cm).

How fast can a brown robin fly?

The speed is not known for this species.

How much does a brown robin weigh?

The weight of the bird can go up to 0.077 lb (35 g).

What are the male and female names of the species?

Males and females of this gray-brown bird species are not given different names.

What would you call a baby brown robin?

A baby brown scrub robin is called a chick or young.

What do they eat?

The main diet of this brown scrub robin species consists of butterflies, bees, locusts, wasps, and ants. The birds snatch their prey aerially, killing insects and invertebrates, and then feeding on them.

The diet also includes fruits and seeds. These birds mostly forage on the ground or at the base of trees. Young broods are fed by both parents after they hatch.

American robins, one of the most common robins known, feed on fruits and berries, both wild and cultivated. These birds also feed on earthworms and insects such as caterpillars, beetle grubs, and grasshoppers.

Predators of these robin birds include snakes, hawks, crows, squirrels, blue jays, and cats.

Are they dangerous?

They are not considered dangerous.

Would they make a good pet?

They are usually not considered pets. The melodious song and calls that these birds sing should be enjoyed in a forest habitat.

Did you know...

Not all female robins are brown in color. Female American robins have a dull orange belly.

Robins can be brown and the brown scrub robin is a great example of this.

Do robins close their eyes?

Babies are born with their eyes closed, but they are able to open their days after a few days.

What are the differences between male and female robins?

Taking the example of the American robin, males have rust-colored feathers on the breasts, yellow bills, black heads, and gray backs and wings. Females are quite similar but much duller in coloration. This is how you can tell the difference between the two sexes.  

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these guinea fowl facts and bee hummingbird facts for kids.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable black robin coloring pages.