Fluffed Up For Winter
A robin red breast in full winter plumage on a cold winter's day at Hengistbury Head, Dorset UK.
The distinctive orange breast of both sexes contributed to the European robin's original name of "redbreast", orange as a colour name being unknown in English until the 16th century, by which time the fruit of the same name had been introduced. The Dutch roodborstje, French rouge-gorge, Swedish rödhake, German Rotkehlchen, Italian pettirosso, Spanish petirrojo, Hungarian vörösbegy, and Portuguese pisco-de-peito-ruivo all refer to the distinctively coloured front.
In the 15th century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to robin. As a given name, Robin is originally a diminutive of the name Robert. The term robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (Turdus migratorius, a thrush) and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae, the relationships of which are unclear.
Other older English names for the bird include ruddock and robinet. In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English robin.
Text courtesy of Wikipedia.
Fluffed Up For Winter
A robin red breast in full winter plumage on a cold winter's day at Hengistbury Head, Dorset UK.
The distinctive orange breast of both sexes contributed to the European robin's original name of "redbreast", orange as a colour name being unknown in English until the 16th century, by which time the fruit of the same name had been introduced. The Dutch roodborstje, French rouge-gorge, Swedish rödhake, German Rotkehlchen, Italian pettirosso, Spanish petirrojo, Hungarian vörösbegy, and Portuguese pisco-de-peito-ruivo all refer to the distinctively coloured front.
In the 15th century, when it became popular to give human names to familiar species, the bird came to be known as robin redbreast, which was eventually shortened to robin. As a given name, Robin is originally a diminutive of the name Robert. The term robin is also applied to some birds in other families with red or orange breasts. These include the American robin (Turdus migratorius, a thrush) and the Australasian robins of the family Petroicidae, the relationships of which are unclear.
Other older English names for the bird include ruddock and robinet. In American literature of the late 19th century, this robin was frequently called the English robin.
Text courtesy of Wikipedia.