Episode 78: American Robin – Voice of the Wild

This is Brodie with Illinois Extension and I’m here with a new “voice of the wild”

This common bird’s spring and summertime dawn song is a friendly reminder that the sun is, in fact, up; and though you might have been just fine with another hour or two of sleep, this thrush is awake and ready for a full day of showing off their ochre-red breast while searching for earthworms in your lawn. That’s a hard day’s work for an American Robin.

The robin can be found throughout north America during the breeding season and during winter anywhere south of Canada, though during the winter you’re unlikely to find an individual browsing your yard, instead you’ll find them in big roving, flocks searching for trees full of berries. In the winter, listen for the American robin’s characteristic “tuk”s and squeking calls anytime you’re near a berry or fruit-filled woodlot, be it in a suburb or woodland. Here’s the American Robin again.

Thank you to the Macaulay library at the Cornell lab for today’s sound. Learn more about voice of the wild at go.illinois.edu/VOW