What’s your Christmas BIRD?

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by MartinGarner on December 8, 2010 · 8 comments

in Birding Western Palearctic

In the UK we will soon be besieged with Christmas cards. THE bird species which will be more in evidence than any other will be the European Robin. Not the Robin of North America (Turdus migratorius), but a much smaller cuter -looking, super aggressive chat. Often known as the gardeners  friend, our resident British birds are often quite tame. However we are invaded each autumn by hundreds or even thousands of immigrant Robins from Scandinavia and probably even parts of Russia. These are wilder Robins and some are super migrants, having reached as far east as Japan. One of the wilder ones from North and East of the UK is in the photo above. Taken on the Shetland Isles in October 2010.

So 2 questions come to mind:

1) When will North America get its first real proper Robin (a European one)! Newfoundland  must be a good bet.

2) If ours is the Robin, what is the bird most represented in the Christmas  paraphernalia in North America? Hope its not the Turkey!

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  • http://migration.wordpress.com Dan

    Interesting comment. I’m not in the US anymore but am American, and I can’t say that we ever had one specific “Christmas bird”. But the bird I’d most associate with Christmas is the Northern Cardinal, seconded by the Black-capped Chickadee.

    • Martin Garner

      Thanks Nate and Dan- wow Northern Cardinal. nice one!

  • Nate

    The Christmas bird in North America is Northern Cardinal, bar none. And it’s sitting in a fir tree in the snow, which has to be really weird for the full third of the continent that doesn’t have Cardinals.

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_N7XQNTKGKKPEKY27CG6DP4XMYE Wendy

    I agree, in the US, the Northern Cardinal is probably the most featured bird on Christmas cards

    • http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com/birdingperu/blog/ Gunnar Engblom

      In Sweden the BullFinch is on every Christmas card. I don’t think there are any particular birds associated with Christmas in Peru. Maybe we should start a new tradition here. How about Vermilion Flycatcher and Peruvian Meadowlark? Are they worthy?
      Gunnar Engblom
      Kolibri Expeditions
      http://www.kolibriexpeditions.com

      PS. Please excuse my briefness….this is written on a mobile device.

      • Martin Garner

        Fascinating Gunnar, I had no idea- wonder if its different in other European countries

        Martin

  • Susan Myers

    I guess it would have to be the Kookaburra in Australia!

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