American robin
Turdus migratorius
Bird
Abundant, widespread thrush that splits its diet seasonally: earthworms, insects, and other invertebrates dominate in spring and summer, while soft fruits become the primary food in late summer, fall, and winter. Robins consume a wide range of native fruits including chokecherry, hawthorn, dogwood, serviceberry, and mulberry, and they disperse seeds across the landscape as they move in winter flocks. The species nests in an open cup, typically on a horizontal tree or shrub limb, so fruiting trees and shrubs serve as both food and nest structure in a garden.
Conservation
IUCN Red List: Least Concern. Among the most numerous and broadly distributed land birds in North America, with a stable-to-increasing continental population; no special conservation status.
Plan for this species
Location-fit plant set for Chicago, IL: host and specialist plants first, then nectar, fruit, seed, foliage, and shelter plants that still fit the current and mid-century climate read.
0 essential relationships / 6 supporting plants
Host/specialist links: 0
Forage/pollination links: 6
Shelter links: 0
Relationship roles: 1
American beautyberry
Supporting / Fruit plants
NC State Extension names the American robin among the songbirds that eat beautyberry fruit through fall and early winter.
American elderberry
Supporting / Fruit plants
Arrowwood viburnum
Supporting / Fruit plants
Black cherry
Supporting / Fruit plants
Blackhaw viburnum
Supporting / Fruit plants
Blue elderberry
Supporting / Fruit plants
Plants in the catalog
Fruit plants · 36
NC State Extension names the American robin among the songbirds that eat beautyberry fruit through fall and early winter.
Robins and other fruit-eating birds strip the small persistent pomes in winter - and in doing so disperse the fertile seed far from the parent tree, which is the main way Callery pear invades new ground. This is real wildlife use, but it works against native habitat.
Robins overwintering in the north depend on persistent fleshy fruit rather than on invertebrates, and juniper cones are a staple of that diet. A pollinated female holding two seasons of cones at once is a longer-lasting resource than most single-crop shrubs.
Robins that overwinter north switch off earthworms entirely and onto fruit, and juniper cones are among the most reliable winter items available to them. Birds pass the seeds intact, which is the species' main dispersal route into old fields and pasture edges.
Robins take juniper cones heavily in late winter, when the persistent blue cones are among the few fleshy foods still on the plant. The two-year ripening cycle means a fruiting female carries both green and ripe cones at once, which spreads the resource across seasons.
Robins are among the heaviest consumers of small autumn drupes in eastern North America and gray dogwood fruit is the right size, timing and lipid content for them. Marked plausible rather than documented only because the Wildflower Center names bluebird, cardinal and downy woodpecker specifically and does not extend its list; the general fruit-eating record for the species is strong enough that this is a cautious label rather than a doubtful claim.
Robins and other fruit-eating songbirds eat the persistent red berries and disperse the seed - the documented mechanism by which Japanese barberry escapes into and invades natural areas. Bird use here drives the invasion rather than indicating habitat value.
Birds including robins and thrushes consume the ripening drupes in autumn; NC State Extension documents bird use of Viburnum carlesii fruit.
Robins forage heavily on the woodland floor and take large quantities of small autumn drupes, and a knee-high fruiting shrub puts the crop exactly where they already are. Plausible on the same footing as the waxwing: the general fruit-eating record for the species is firm, but no cited source names the bird.
Robins are among the heaviest consumers of small drupes in eastern North America and take persistent winter fruit readily. Listed on the same footing as the waxwing: the general fruit-eating record for the species is strong, but the cited source stops at a category rather than a species list.
Robins are among the thrushes that take dogwood fruit heavily, and they are usually the birds that empty a garden specimen. Wikipedia records at least eleven bird species feeding on the fruit of this species; the robin is the one a gardener will actually notice, because it feeds in the open and returns repeatedly to the same plant.
Range
Breeds across nearly all of North America from Alaska and Canada south through the United States into Mexico; northern populations migrate south for winter while many populations are year-round residents.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). American robin (Turdus migratorius). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/american-robin
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Cornell Lab: American Robin
Bird-guide reference for identity, broad North American range, low-concern status, fruit/invertebrate diet, and open-cup nesting in trees and shrubs.
GBIF: Turdus migratorius
GBIF backbone record corroborates the accepted name Turdus migratorius and its broad North American range.
iNaturalist: Turdus migratorius
iNaturalist research-grade observations corroborate species identity and its near-continent-wide North American range.
Wikipedia: American robin
Encyclopedia article corroborating taxonomy, migratory range, and breeding lifecycle.