Most people know the American Robin from city lawns, but it is just as at home in the mountains. In Oregon it ranges from sea level to treeline and lives in both developed areas and wild forest. Adults have a brick-red breast, a gray back, a dark head and a white, streaked chin, with small white marks around the eye. Males tend to have blacker heads and richer color than females, and young birds are heavily spotted below.
Robins change their menu with the seasons. In spring and summer they hunt earthworms, insects and other soft invertebrates, running and pausing on open ground and finding prey by sight. In fall and winter they switch mostly to fruit, and flocks roam widely in search of good berry crops. The female builds a cup of grass and twigs on a base of mud, usually on a branch, and lays about four pale blue eggs. Pairs often raise two broods a season.
On Mt. Hood, listen for the robin’s rich, musical song early in the morning in campgrounds and forest openings. It is one of the first birds to sing at dawn in spring and summer. Watch for robins running across open ground in campgrounds and meadows.
How to identify it
A large thrush, 8 to 11 inches long, with a brick-red breast, gray back, dark head and white, streaked throat, plus white marks around the eye. Juveniles have spotted breasts. Often stands upright on open ground and runs in short bursts.
Look-alikes
Varied Thrush, a robin-sized bird of dense, wet conifer forest, has an orange eyebrow and throat, orange wing markings and a dark band across the chest.
Habitat
Nearly anywhere with trees and open ground: towns, farmland, forests and mountain meadows, from sea level to treeline. Nesting birds need trees for nest sites and mud for building.
Sightings in the forest
185 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on October 11, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →