X is for Xmas bird

ROBIN (ERITHACUS RUBECULA)

There is no British bird beginning with ‘X’ and I dislike the abbreviation of Christmas, but the show must go on. The timing is impeccable for a Christmas special.

No other British bird is such a yuletide symbol as the robin Erithacus rubecula. As I type, I’m surrounded by 10 manifestations of this little thrush (5 ornaments and 5 cards). Yet the robin is resident here all year.  Why aren’t our houses adorned with winter migrants like the gorgeous waxwing  Bombycilla garrulus, the redwing Turdus iliacus or appropriately arctic snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis?

The reason robin’s stole the Christmas spotlight is twofold.  Firstly, they are one of few birds that sing this time of year*, adding winter cheer to an otherwise frosty atmosphere. Both sexes sing year-round, a complex tune of cheerful notes which reminds me of a blackbird Turdus merula on helium. Perhaps their splash of colour also brightened up the dreary winter woods.

The second reason is from the tradition of mailing Christmas cards.  At the time cards went commercial in the 1840’s , postmen wore red jackets, so were nicknamed ‘Robins’ for the similarity of their dress. The robin’s associations with postmen and winter time melded to inspire picture cards with caricatures of robins carrying letters through the snow and has made them the traditional Christmas favourite.

Our fondness for the robin in Britain extends beyond the Christmas season. They have been our unofficial national bird since the 1960’s¹, and they are seen as a friend above all else. British tradition dictates that it is taboo to capture or harm a robin^1,2. To kill one is a scandal, causing a lifetime of bad luck ^1,2 and egg-collecting children of past times left robin eggs be for fear of their fingers turning crooked if they stole one². The famous excerpt from William Blake “A robin redbreast in a cage puts all heaven in a rage” illustrates that though robins were sometimes caged as songbirds, it was generally frowned upon. Christians also adopted the reverence of robins, claiming the bird’s breast was coloured when it plucked the thorns from Jesus’crown  and bloodied itself¹.

The robin did not enjoy the same respect in mainland Europe, where it was more regularly trapped for food and cagebirds. Perhaps because of these different histories, the British robin is much tamer than its mainland relatives^1,2,3. We have our very own race of robin, E. rubicella melophilus (melophilus meaning lover’s song)^2,4. Gardeners and growers enjoy a  cupboard love with the bird, keen to exploit the insects and worms exposed by turned soil and confiding to the point of taking food from the hand (Something I’ve had the privilege of experiencing thanks to a friend).  A robin sat on the handle of a fork or a spade is another iconic image of this bird. Though this isn’t a special relationship since robins will follow other earth movers from moles to wild boar.

We often characterise the robin as red breasted, known as the ‘redbreast’ in England until recently, the Broindergh or ‘red belly’ in Gaelic and Yr hobel goc or the ‘red bird’ in Welsh ¹ and we often illustrate it in scarlet or crimson dress. However, look at any real robin and you’ll see it’s breast is not in fact red, but a rusty orange. The alternative name “Ruddock” referring to a warm, ‘ruddy’ tone is more descriptive. ‘Robin’ itself is short for ‘Robert’, following the practice for giving characterful birds affectionate human names.

The robin uses its colourful breast in display. Whilst humans see the robin as friendly, they view each other as anything but. Robin’s are fiercely territorial. Even the different sexes will clash in winter. Research into the true nature of robins by the devoted expert David Lack revealed that male robins respond to red feathers like a bull to a flag, even if it’s just a ball of fluff. After posturing, calling and chasing they may battle ferociously, sometimes to the death.

Within their territory, robins build a nest of leaves and moss in a nook or cranny. Aswell as bushes and tree holes, they are famous for using human objects including plantpots and other garden items and even furniture inside houses! When the young fledge, they are speckled brown and tan, often being mistaken for a different species.

So to all readers of EcoGeek, I hope you’ve enjoyed this celebration of this festive bird and enjoy your own festive celebrations if you haven’t done so already. And if Christmas dinner gets too much, to paraphrase one of my classmates, feed the birds, let them know it’s Christmas time!
Thank you and a Merry Christmas from Ecogeek!

*Apart from the wren Troglodytes troglodytes, lending it the common name ‘winter wren’.

References

1- Mark Cocker and Richard Mabey. (2005) Birds Britannica. London, Chatto and Windus.

2- Fransesca Greenoak. (1979) All the Birds of the Air. A. Brown and Sons.

3- Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves. (2010) RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Third Edition). London, A&C Black.

4- R.A. Robinson. (2005) BTO BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland: Robin Erithacus europaea   [Linnaeus, 1758]. (BTO Research Report 407). BTO, Thetford. Available from: http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob10990.htm

W is for Woodpigeon

WOODPIGEON (COLUMBA PALUMBUS)

There is no such thing as ‘just a pigeon’. It amazes me that people don’t realise the difference between the feral, city pigeon (domesticated descendants of rock doves* Columba livia originally kept for food), and the fully wild wood pigeon Columba palumbus.  ‘Woodies’ can be discerned by their salmon-pink breast  and white neck clasp, and wing patches. Like feral pigeons, they have an iridescent flash on their their neck, glinting metallic green and purple. The rest of their body is a pastel blue- grey.

Woodpigeons are also larger than feral pigeons (around 50% heavier¹), one of our biggest garden birds. They’re often thought of as fat and can look quite comical strutting with their tiny legs. One of my friends likens them to the portly figure of Winston Churchill. In truth though, their breast is mainly powerful flight muscle, not flab. 

But they are certainly big eaters. Wood pigeons are mainly herbivorous, grazing on plants and shoots and gulping down seeds, berries, buds and leaves along with the occasional insect, worm or snail^2,3.  A wide gape allows them to swallow acorns whole and despite their size, they are capable of quite acrobatic feats to feed on fruiting branches.
Plant foods are difficult to digest, so they eat a lot. This makes them a serious pest as winter flocks descend in their hundreds on fields of cereals and vegetables, and are understandably shot to control their numbers. One woodpigeon was found with its crop and stomach full of 1020 grains of corn, whilst another had swallowed 198 beans⁴.  They’re also begrudged in gardens for `taking food meant for smaller birds. This can be averted by caging the feed or using smaller seed mixes⁵. I personally welcome woodies in the garden over the more piggish feral pigeons.

The woodpigeon was proclaimed Britain’s commonest garden bird in 2005⁶. Once limited to rural woods and fields, their numbers have soared due to changing practices on the farms they pilfer. Switching from spring to autumn sowing of cereals and increased growing of oilseed rape provide extensive winter food sources which help the pigeons survive the leaner times. It is from these farms that many have spilled into suburban and urban areas⁵. They even outnumber their feral cousins in London gardens⁷.

But winter survival is only half the story. Woodpigeons can also breed all year round provided there is enough food available, thanks to a trick up their sleeve, or rather down their throat.

Most birds feed their young on insects to provide the protein they need to grow, restricting their breeding season to the warmer spring and summer months. Pigeons have curbed this by producing a protein-rich milk. Yes, milk!  Of course this ‘pigeon milk’ does not come from teats but from a cell lining of the crop. More winter food means woodpigeons can raise more broods later.

Woodpigeons mate for life, and courting males go to great effort to earn their mates. Their haughty cooing has a drowsy quality that accentuates the humid late summer. They also perform display flights, flapping vertically into the air before gliding down in a wide arc. Any interested female is greeted with a display of tilting,tail-fanning and cooing . Though she will often spurn his advances, he follows her persistently. If they suit, they become hopeless romantics, cuddling up together, preening and even ‘kissing’ by locking beaks and exchanging food. 

Woodpigeon courting (Video by vriesap) and song (Recording by Ashley Fisher). 

The couple builds a messy platform of sticks in the branches of a tree. Their plain white eggs can sometimes be seen from below. The young pigeons, called squabs have faces only a mother could love with bulging eyes, a roman nose and straggly down, growing into juveniles which lack the white markings of the adults.

Male woodpigeons are defensive of their breeding territories and mates, getting into fights by smacking each other with their wings. These tussles look silly, but the blows are powerful. Woodpigeons also clap their wings together over their backs when fleeing a predator, sounding a clattering alarm signal. Buzzards Buteo buteo, female sparrowhawks  Accipiter nisus, foxes Vulpes vulpes and humans all enjoy a meaty woodpigeon.

All too often we hear of species declining due to human land use. The woodpigeon provides a brilliant example of the opposite, even if it is at our expense. Whether viewed as a pest or handsome garden visitor, even the humble woodpigeon has a remarkable life. It is far from “just a pigeon”.

* There's no real difference between 'pigeons' and 'doves'. The sacred white dove symbol of christianity is simply a colour form of domestic pigeon. 

References

1- R.A. Robinson. (2005) BTO BirdFacts: profiles of birds occurring in Britain & Ireland: Woodpigeon Columba palumbus   [Linnaeus, 1758]. (BTO Research Report 407). BTO, Thetford. Available from:  http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob6700.htm

2- Peter Holden and Tim Cleeves. (2010) RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Third Edition). London, A&C Black.

3- Peter Holden and J.T.R. Sharrock. (1988) The RSPB Book of British Birds. London, Papermac.

4- Mark Cocker and Richard Mabey. (2005) Birds Britannica. London, Chatto and Windus.

5- BTO (No date) A BTO Garden BirdWatch factsheet: Woodpigeon. Available from: http://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/u23/downloads/pdfs/factsheet_woodp.pdf

6- BBC News. (2004) Wood pigeon 'most common UK bird'. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4646685.stm

7- BBC News. (2008) Wood pigeons 'flocking to towns'. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7166536.stm