Listen to the American robin
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the American robin
The American robin is a bird in the family Turdidae (order Passeriformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults weigh around 77 g.
What does the American robin sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song and call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) is a migratory bird of the true thrush genus and Turdidae, the wider thrush family. It is named after the European robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the Old World flycatcher family. The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific coast.
According to the Partners in Flight database (2019), the American robin is the most abundant landbird in North America (with 370 million individuals), ahead of red-winged blackbirds, introduced European starlings, mourning doves and house finches. It has seven subspecies.
Related birds in the genus Turdus
More from the family Turdidae
Frequently asked questions
What does an American robin sound like?
You can hear 7 recordings of the American robin on this page, including its song and call. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the American robin endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the American robin as “least concern”.
What family does the American robin belong to?
The American robin (Turdus migratorius) belongs to the family Turdidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources & credits
- Yellowstone sound library - American Robin - 001 by NPS & MSU Acoustic Atlas/Jennifer Jerrett – Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Blue Bell Campground, Custer State Park, South Dakota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Goulds, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada by Doug Hynes – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Blue Bell Campground, Custer State Park, South Dakota… by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · San Francisco Peninsula (near San Francisco), San… by radrat – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Wood Lake, Richfield, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States by Jonathon Jongsma – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- American Robin – US National Park Service by NPS – Public domain (NPS) · NPS
- Wikidata Q460967 – CC0
- Wikipedia: American robin – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Rhododendrites – CC BY-SA 4.0