# Do robins travel in flocks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936 "2008-04-18T19:58:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/1 "2008-04-18T19:58:31Z")
Do robins (the bird, not the superhero sidekick!) travel in flocks? It’s finally spring here in Minnesota, and the other morning I looked out my front window to see about 8 robins in my yard. During the warm months, you see robins around, but not in that kind of number. So was there a party in my front yard and robins from all over were gathering, or were the birds travelling together and stopped of at my yard for a bite? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/2 "2008-04-18T20:33:37Z")
No. A few may move around together, but you’ll never see a flock of say 30 to a couple hundred going somewhere together. Now sandhill cranes I see in the fall gather into flocks of hundreds in fields. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/3 "2008-04-18T21:09:06Z")
I don’t know if we’re talking about the same Robins, but here they’re extremely territorial all the year round. If they have too they will fight to the death to protect their patch. [http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/robin/territory.asp](http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/robin/territory.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/4 "2008-04-18T21:13:45Z")
Yes, they do flock. In winter they can gather at night in roosts of hundreds to thousands. During the day they break up into smaller groups to forage. A flock of eight would not be unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/5 "2008-04-18T21:15:25Z")
[QUOTE=Vetch] I don’t know if we’re talking about the same Robins, but here they’re extremely territorial all the year round. If they have too they will fight to the death to protect their patch. > **[Error 500](https://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/robin/territory.asp)** [/QUOTE] Different bird. The American Robin is not very closely related to the European Robin. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/6 "2008-04-18T23:06:36Z")
Heck, I rarely see one fly farther than 20 ft. Based just on the ones around here I’d guess they’re not much better fliers than chickens. I doubt that’s actually true, but it sure seems that way. And if they can just barely fly, they sure can’t flock. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/7 "2008-04-18T23:21:59Z")
[QUOTE=LSLGuy] Heck, I rarely see one fly farther than 20 ft. Based just on the ones around here I’d guess they’re not much better fliers than chickens. I doubt that’s actually true, but it sure seems that way. And if they can just barely fly, they sure can’t flock. [/QUOTE] Robins actually fly pretty well. Some individuals migrate thousands of miles (from Canada to Guatemala). ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/8 "2008-04-18T23:44:42Z")
[QUOTE=Tastes of Chocolate] Do robins (the bird, not the superhero sidekick!) travel in flocks? … During the warm months, you see robins around, but not in that kind of number. [/QUOTE] Robins do travel in flocks, when they are going long distances (like flying south for the winter and back in the spring). But once they arrive at their summer locations, the flock disperses and each bird (or pair of birds) finds a location for their nest, and claims that and the surrounding area as their territory. And you will usually see only them, because they do defend their territory from outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/9 "2008-04-19T02:55:57Z")
They like to hang with varied thrush. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/10 "2008-04-19T04:52:39Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Yes, they do flock. In winter they can gather at night in roosts of hundreds to thousands. During the day they break up into smaller groups to forage. A flock of eight would not be unusual. [/QUOTE] Yep. Looked out my window one warmish day this past February to see a large flock in my yard – I didn’t count them, but would have guessed a hundred or so. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/11 "2008-04-19T05:02:42Z")
[QUOTE=Colibri] Different bird. The American Robin is not very closely related to the European Robin. [/QUOTE] \ [Apparently](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Robin#Distribution_and_habitat) a handful of our guys wind up in Great Britain from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/12 "2008-04-19T06:15:23Z")
What I have noticed, in recent years, are a few robins still here during the winter. I don’t recall ever having seen this before. Perhaps some of them are becoming acclimated to our winters? Or global warming? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/13 "2008-04-19T13:29:04Z")
In fact, speaking of which, I saw a flock of robins here (Eastern Massachusetts) in January. I think they’ve always been semi-migratory, but maybe the tendency toward staying put has become more pronounced as the climate has warmed. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/14 "2008-04-19T15:34:32Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] What I have noticed, in recent years, are a few robins still here during the winter. I don’t recall ever having seen this before. Perhaps some of them are becoming acclimated to our winters? Or global warming? [/QUOTE] There have been a number of papers recently documenting that some species of migratory birds have been wintering farther north in recent decades, correlated with climate change. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/15 "2008-04-19T15:40:11Z")
The real question isn’t “do they flock?”, it’s “do they rock?”. Why yes, yes they do. /lameness ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/16 "2008-04-19T15:47:42Z")
[QUOTE=susan] They like to hang with varied thrush. [/QUOTE] Or nestled safe, in leafy bush, ---
**Author:** ![IdFindAnAAnswerForThat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3d9bf3/32.png) [@IdFindAnAAnswerForThat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IdFindAnAAnswerForThat)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/17 "2008-04-19T21:34:09Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] What I have noticed, in recent years, are a few robins still here during the winter. I don’t recall ever having seen this before. Perhaps some of them are becoming acclimated to our winters? Or global warming? [/QUOTE] I read a thread about this awhile back, I can see how they don’t fly south if they get food, but how can they be sure they’re gonna get it? Lazy robins. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/18 "2008-04-20T03:52:51Z")
[QUOTE=IdFindAnAAnswerForThat] I read a thread about this awhile back, I can see how they don’t fly south if they get food, but how can they be sure they’re gonna get it? Lazy robins. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Perhaps overly-optimistic robins. I have no evidence that the ones I saw actually survived the winter. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-robins-travel-in-flocks/445936/19 "2008-04-20T04:00:37Z")
[QUOTE=IdFindAnAAnswerForThat] I read a thread about this awhile back, I can see how they don’t fly south if they get food, but how can they be sure they’re gonna get it? [/QUOTE] If food gets short, they can always fly south. Nothing demands that they stay in one place all winter. Lots of birds have variable migration depending on the severity of the winter.