European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) [XC881867]
by Esperanza Poveda from Valle del Guadiato (near Villaviciosa de C\u00f3rdoba), C\u00f3rdoba, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain (call)
European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) [XC894738]
by Roman Cheprasov from Sete Fontes, S\u00e3o Victor (near Braga) Braga, Portugal (song)
Nest
A cup of moss, grass and leaves, with a base of dead leaves, in a natural or artificial hollow.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 6; white, with reddish speckling and spotting giving a rusty appearance.
Subspecies
It has been suggested that Canary Is subspecies superbus merits treatment as a separate species, with birds on Gran Canaria proposed as a separate subspecies ("marionae") on grounds of considerable genetic isolation. This species status, however, is based on very minor levels of differentiation, and taxonomic distinction between the two populations probably not justified without confirmatory differences in morphological characters. Geographical variation extremely slight, with considerable intergradation among western subspecies; valens and caucasicus sometimes merged with hyrcanus. Other described subspecies are armoricanus (described from north-western France), sardus (Sardinia) and balcanicus (western Turkey), all synonymized with nominate.
The following 10 subspecies are recognised:
melophilus Hartert, 1901 - British Is. Non-breeding also south-western Europe.
rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) - Continental Europe east to Ural Mts and western Asia Minor, also islands in eastern Atlantic (Azores, Madeira, western Canary Is) and north-western Morocco. Non-breeding western and southern Europe and north-eastern Africa.
superbus Koenig, AF, 1889 - Central Canary Is (Tenerife, Gran Canaria). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Tenerife Robin (Erithacus superbus).
witherbyi Hartert, 1910 - Northern Algeria and northern Tunisia.
valens Portenko, 1954 - Southern Crimea.
caucasicus Buturlin, 1907 - Eastern Turkey and Caucasus area. Non-breeding also Middle East.
hyrcanus Blanford, 1874 - South-eastern Azerbaijan and northern Iran. Non-breeding also Middle East.
marionae Dietzen, Michels & Wink, 2015 - Gran Canaria I. (central Canary Islands).
balcanicus Watson, 1961 - Balkan Peninsula to western Turkey.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7
BirdLife International Species Factsheet