Robin
Featured in: Year 1: Animals, including humans
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Robin
Bird
A familiar garden bird with a bright red breast, known for its territorial nature.
💡 Fun Facts
- Is famous for singing all year round, often under streetlights at night.
- Both male and female robins have a red breast and look identical.
Name Story
Erithacus rubecula
means “the little red one”
What does its name mean?
- Erithacus — an ancient name for a small bird; which bird exactly is uncertainLatinised Greek erithakos, a bird named by Aristotle
- rubecula — little red oneLatin ruber 'red'
- Robin — a pet form of the man's name RobertEnglish
Its orange-red breast gives it the Latin name 'little red one'. The name 'Robin' is even friendlier — it began as a nickname, a pet form of 'Robert', from the old habit of giving garden birds human names (like Jenny Wren), and 'Robin Redbreast' stuck.