Robin

Animal Series

by Helen F. Wilson

A tuneful natural and cultural history of this globally renowned songbird.
 
The robin is a small bird with a distinctive ruddy breast, at once a British national treasure and a bird with a global reputation. In this superbly illustrated account, Helen F. Wilson looks at many aspects of the cherished robin, from its status as a harbinger of seasonal change and, in the United Kingdom, an icon of Christmas, to its place in fairy tales, environmental campaigns, and scientific discovery. In moving between cultural and natural histories, Robin asks wide-ranging questions, such as how did the robin’s name travel the world? Why is the robin so melancholy? Who was Cock Robin? And how has the history of the color red shaped the robin’s ambivalent associations and unusual origin stories?

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History

196 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2022

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wilson introduces the breadth of international bird species that are known by the name “robin.” (The European robin, the protagonist of this monograph, is the only bird in its genus and is not as closely related to the American robin (a thrush) as to the bluebird; the name simply referenced the red breast. There are also magpie-robins in Southeast Asia.) Like another strikingly red bird, the cardinal in North America, the robin has long been associated with a) death and b) Christmas. They might be a portent of death, or an embodiment of the soul of the departed. For instance, the legend has it that a robin spent days in Westminster Abbey while Queen Mary II lay in state. Robins are the UK’s official favourite bird because they look cute and act endearing and sing sweetly, but they are violently territorial. (The old nursery rhyme “Who Killed Cock Robin?” also set up a weird and false vendetta between sparrows and robins.) This was a pleasant wander through biological and cultural information. I particularly loved the photos and other illustrations.

[Kerfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book on the library shelf, and being interested in birds, and robins, I took it home with me. The illustrations are many, and i enjoyed them best.

I did learn a few things--I already knew that European and Americana robins were not actually related--but there are many birds all over that world that contain "robin" in their name. Some are related, some not. Some, unlike the Europeans and American robins, are endangered.

I learned that robins are ferocious defenders of their territory. And that humans have anthropomorphized and sentimentalized robins endlessly, incorporating them into morality tales for children. Religious stories connected them to Christ, and turned them into a ubiquitous symbol for Christmas in the UK, while also using their positive image to sell everything from cigarettes to tea.

About halfway though I started skimming. Really, a short essay would have sufficed.

[Carol Griffiths · Rating 3 out of 5]

A charming little book about all aspects - scientific, social, historical - to do with the Robin. The illustrations are varied and well placed. I liked the way both positive and negative aspects of the Robin's public perception are covered.