American Robin with White Feathers

If you look at the range map you’ll see that there are winter populations of America Robins  in most states year round. Yes, year round. Robins are surprisingly hardy birds, capable of surviving temperatures well below zero. But that doesn’t mean sightings are common year round.

After nesting season has ended, they usually form large nomadic groups that roost at night in the woods. Their diet changes from mostly worms and insects to fruit, nuts and berries. I’ve seen them devouring our crab apples, Mountain Ash tree berries, and sometimes under my feeders looking for nuts. They also appreciate open water in the fall and winter. If you have a pond or heated birdbath they may show up for afternoon drinks.

Sunday my cats and I were excited to watch a flock of 6 robins all bathing together in the pond. Spish, splash, they were taking a bath and causing a lot of excitement in our house. As pleased as I was watching the pond action, I was even more excited to see a couple robins out in the lawn. One was a beautiful, dark red-breasted robin, but the other was a little different. Is that white?

It was way in the back of the yard so I extended the zoom to take some candid shots of a leucistic American Robin. I talked about leucism in an earlier blog. Click HERE to read more. And below is a short video.

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Category › Nature up close