# Why do robins have red breasts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 9, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466 "2009-04-09T02:06:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/1 "2009-04-09T02:06:10Z")
Looking out in the backyard I was watching one hunt for worms and was struck by the red breast covering almost the entire ‘underside.’ I did some googling and found some ‘expert’ pages that said “I dunno” So I thought I’d ask someone really knowledgeable… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/2 "2009-04-09T02:10:53Z")
As with a lot of bird coloring and other plumage decorations (e.g. the tails of peacocks and Quetzalcoatl) the answer boils down to what the opposite avian sex finds attractive. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/3 "2009-04-09T02:20:19Z")
Why do people think that robins have red breasts? They’re ORANGE! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/4 "2009-04-09T02:26:20Z")
Because other thrushes are speckled. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/5 "2009-04-09T02:38:20Z")
> [@Q.E.D](#): > > As with a lot of bird coloring and other plumage decorations (e.g. the tails of peacocks and Quetzalcoatl) the answer boils down to what the opposite avian sex finds attractive. That would work if the females were strikingly less fancy, but the female robins I’ve seen lately (I can tell they’re females because they are plump with eggs) hve breasts nearly as orange as the males. I guess it’s like mens nipples. As for the color being orange, not red, I’ve heard that in some cultures there is no word for some of the secondary colors; the name just defaults to the closest primary. This could explain why “redheads,” whose hair color is decidedly orange, or ginger, color, are not called “gingers,” at least in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/6 "2009-04-09T02:43:25Z")
[Humor] Cause they’re [drawn that way](http://www.collectortimes.com/2005_10/tim-steph.jpg). ---
**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 9, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/7 "2009-04-09T04:59:34Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Why do people think that robins have red breasts? > > They’re ORANGE! :mad: And they’re not really BREASTS! ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/8 "2009-04-09T05:15:50Z")
To add something factual to the topic… An interesting thing about feather coloration is that **some** of the coloration is not due to pigmentation, but rather to the structure of the feather itself (scattering and reflecting light.) Greens, blues, and violets are most often the method for achieving this effect. Other color shades are more often created by pigmentation. In the case of oranges and reds, the pigmentation is caused by carotenoids. Why this is relevant is possibly explained by this Wikipedia quote: > [@Carotenoid](#): > > Humans and Animals are incapable of synthesizing carotenoids, and must obtain them through their diet, yet they are common and often in ornamental features. For example, the pink colour of flamingos and salmon, and the red colouring of lobsters are due to carotenoids. It has been proposed that carotenoids are used in ornamental traits because, given their physiological and chemical properties, **they can be used as honest indicators of individual health, and hence they can be used by animals when selecting potential mates**. Bolding added. So a guess would be that where robins flourish, there is a food item that is a good source of carotenoids. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/9 "2009-04-09T07:58:02Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > That would work if the females were strikingly less fancy, but the female robins I’ve seen lately (I can tell they’re females because they are plump with eggs) hve breasts nearly as orange as the males. I guess it’s like mens nipples. > > As for the color being orange, not red, I’ve heard that in some cultures there is no word for some of the secondary colors; the name just defaults to the closest primary. This could explain why “redheads,” whose hair color is decidedly orange, or ginger, color, are not called “gingers,” at least in the US. I think the breast of British robins is closer to red; this may have influenced the perception of the bird that was to become the American robin. The British robin isn’t very closely related to the American one so it’s interesting that in both birds the females also have the ‘red’ breast. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the American robin is closer to the blackbird, in which only the male has striking colouring. Most other thrushes have fairly dull colouring in both sexes. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stafford_cripps/32/7167_2.png) [@The\_Stafford\_Cripps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stafford_Cripps)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/10 "2009-04-09T08:00:46Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > So a guess would be that where robins flourish, there is a food item that is a good source of carotenoids. But British / European robins flourish pretty much anywhere, alongside birds which have little to no red colouring. I think American robins are widespread as well. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/11 "2009-04-09T09:26:26Z")
Hazy memory from this being explained at school (or Sunday school) Jesus (or a saint) was in a cave trying to keep warm with a small fire but failing … the robin came along and fanned the fire with his wings to keep it going and saving the life of Jesus/random saint but either he got too close or the flames suddenly got really hot 'cos he burnt his breast and that’s why it’s red. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/12 "2009-04-09T10:02:19Z")
> [@Cat\_Jones](#): > > Hazy memory from this being explained at school (or Sunday school) > > Jesus (or a saint) was in a cave trying to keep warm with a small fire but failing … the robin came along and fanned the fire with his wings to keep it going and saving the life of Jesus/random saint but either he got too close or the flames suddenly got really hot 'cos he burnt his breast and that’s why it’s red. Another legend says that a robin tried to pull the thorns from the crown of thorns out of Jesus’s brow. A drop of Jesus’s blood stained its breast and that’s why it’s red. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/13 "2009-04-09T12:57:28Z")
You’re all wrong. It was the sparrow who shot the robin with his bow and arrow, hence the blood. Which as we all know is very difficult to wash out ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/14 "2009-04-09T13:05:12Z")
My general answer to questions of this nature about animals is “Sex” or sometimes “Food” With people it’s “Money” and sometimes “Sex” or “Food” It’s surprisingly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/15 "2009-04-09T13:10:25Z")
> [@picker](#): > > My general answer to questions of this nature about animals is “Sex” or sometimes “Food” > > With people it’s “Money” and sometimes “Sex” or “Food” > > It’s surprisingly accurate. Isn’t the answer to “Money” most often “Sex” or “Food”, as well? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/16 "2009-04-09T13:27:58Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > This could explain why “redheads,” whose hair color is decidedly orange, or ginger, color, are not called “gingers,” at least in the US. We’re not called gingers because _ginger_ isn’t orange. Not even remotely orange, neither when [raw](http://seshdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/ginger.jpg) or [ground](https://ssl3.lon.gb.securedata.net/herbalbrew.co.uk/merchantmanager/images/gingpow.jpg). Do they have a special sort of not-tan/brownish ginger in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/17 "2009-04-09T13:38:55Z")
> [@G. Odoreida](#): > > But British / European robins flourish pretty much anywhere, alongside birds which have little to no red colouring. I think American robins are widespread as well. Different paths. Just because one guy uses caretenoid (presuming that to be the source for robins) to show off doesn’t mean the next guy over can’t use a big set of tail feathers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/18 "2009-04-09T14:17:02Z")
Back in parochial school I was taught that a robin’s breat was red because you could see the blood through it’s skin. No joke. That’s the day I stopped paying attention to what they taught me in Science class there. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/19 "2009-04-09T16:27:27Z")
They really do look red around here (NE Ohio). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466/20 "2009-04-09T16:47:36Z")
Here’s a site that shows pics of male and female and baby [American Robins](http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin.html). I know American Robins are thrushes (as are blackbirds), while European Robins are flycatchers [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-robins-have-red-breasts/492466.md?page=2)