Do American Robins Mate For Life?

The American robin is easily one of the best-known common backyard birds in North America. Known for its beautiful song, North America’s largest thrush can be quite aggressive with other birds when defending its territory, especially during breeding season.

So do robins mate for life? How do they form breeding pairs? Read on to learn all about the mating habits of the American robin.

Like many backyard songbirds, American robins do not mate for life. They generally remain monogamous with their chosen mate throughout the breeding season. However, once the breeding season is over, the males and females go their separate ways.

When a robin mates with a previous mate more than once, it’s usually thought to happen by chance. Since males and females usually return to the same breeding grounds, birds can pair in consecutive seasons.

However, this does not indicate a lifelong partnership. Typically, robins choose a new mate almost every year. In this article, we discuss the courtship, pairing and mating behavior of the American robin in more detail. Read on to discover more!

American robins don’t mate for life

How do American robins attract mates?

The male American robin advertises that he is looking for a mate by singing. Female robins are attracted to the male’s song and often choose a mate based on color. Women seem to prefer men with breasts that are similar in color to their own.

Parental care also appears to influence mate choice. Female American robins prefer males who are attentive to their young, and often choose to mate with these males for several consecutive seasons.

American Robin male sings that he’s looking for a mate

courtship behavior

Singing at dawn usually triggers courtship behavior. Once a male has attracted a female, he performs a sort of swaggering courtship display, dancing around the female on the ground.

During this display, the male flaps his wings, spreads and lifts his tail, and inflates his throat. Mating usually follows this mating dance.

A behavior called Ceremonial Gaping has also been linked to courtship behavior. The ritual opening occurs when the male and female approach and touch each other with their open beaks. Courtship feeding also commonly occurs during this mating ritual.

American Robin eating black hawthorn berries among the leaves

to form

Although American robins do not mate for life, pairs are usually monogamous throughout the breeding season. Pairing occurs in early spring, shortly after both males and females have arrived in their nesting areas.

In general, males arrive at the breeding grounds several days earlier than females.

Multiple mating pairs and parent-child relationships are common in high-density American robin populations. Broods can contain pups from more than one male. However, this is usually only seen in the first flocks of the season.

By the time of the second and third litters, the females will usually choose to remain monogamous with the male who provides the best parental care.

American robins remain monogamous during breeding season, raising up to three litters

How many times do American robins mate each year?

American robins have been known to nest at least twice, and even three times, in a single breeding season.

These songbirds usually start laying eggs in early April, and the incubation and nesting period takes about two and a half to three months. This gives the robins plenty of time to build a second or even third nest.

By July, the robins’ reproductive capacity did decline significantly. However, pair nesting is known to start as late as autumn or winter.

What happens when an American Robin mate dies?

When a robin’s mate dies, it looks for a new mate. Depending on whether the deceased mate was male or female, another bird of the same sex will move into the new territory. Surviving resident birds are likely to choose newcomers as their mates.

If a robin mate dies early in the breeding season, the widowed birds may find new mates and produce a litter that same year.

American robin perched on a branch

Do American robins migrate with their mates?

American robins do not migrate alone with their mates. However, their breeding season mates may be part of the same migratory flock.

During nesting season, robins are very territorial and generally do not socialize with birds other than their mates. Outside of the season, however, American robins are very social.

Prior to migration, several birds usually gather together to travel and forage.

Do American robins grieve the loss of a mate?

A robin may mourn the loss of a mate. However, they don’t seem to display the behaviors that are usually marked as mourning in other birds — such as those that mate for life. It’s hard to know what a bird’s mourning looks like, though.

Research has shown that birds often have the ability to mourn, but labeling these behaviors definitively is a slippery slope because we don’t know how birds feel.

A pair of American robins foraging together in a meadow

Do American Mockingbirds stay together in a family?

Outside of the breeding season, American robins do not stay together as a family. The chicks leave the nest four to five weeks after hatching, and the mates stay together only during the nesting season.

Although robins do not mate for life, a pair may mate for several seasons in a row. This often happens when the same male and female return to the same area year after year. It is also thought that females may choose to remate with males based on parental care.