Robins are sweet little birds that belong to the chat subfamily of the Old World flycatcher family.

These small birds only grow up to 14cm long and there are only a few species of robin such as the American robin and Australian robin.

These tiny birds look nothing like their superhero counterpart; Robin from Batman.  They don’t have any red, black, or green feathers.  Instead, they are pale brown with bright orange chests.

What Do Robins Eat?

Robins are a real treat to marvel at in your garden.  These tiny birds are cheerful and full of energy.  They need a lot of food to help them maintain high energy levels and good health.  Here is a quick look at some of the foods these tiny birds love to eat.

Water

Robins, like all other birds, do need a lot of water to stay healthy and hydrated.  They also enjoy bating in shallow birdbaths.  These birdbaths are ideal for cooling them down in hot summers and aids in removing dirt and oil from their feathers.  A birdbath is ideal for luring these bright birds to your garden.

Insects

Robins are mostly insectivores.  These birds are quite small and mostly focus on smaller food or insect species.  They love to eat earthworms, caterpillars, beetles, true bugs, flies, sowbugs, snails, spiders, termites, millipedes, and centipedes.

Bird lovers often add mealworms to their food plates because this is a food source you can easily buy from local pet stores and it is an easy food to offer these delightful birds.

Fruits

Robins also have a sweet tooth.  They love to eat berries from natural trees or bushes and they also enjoy eating apple slices, raisins, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, plums, raspberries, and cherries.

If you are offering robins fruits, you should cut these fruits into smaller pieces so they can easily consume them.

Seeds

These birds also love to eat small seeds.  They can eat crushed peanuts, sunflower hearts, crushed nuts, nyjer seeds, and a few other varieties that are rich in fats and oils.  Robins cannot crush hard seeds.  As such, it is important to offer them small seeds, seed hearts, or crushed seeds.

Suet

Pesticides in gardens often result in limited food sources for robins.  Many bird lovers try to compensate for the loss of natural insects by offering suet.  Suet is animal fats.  You can offer chopped unsalted suet pieces or rendered suet.  Many also love to make suet dough by mixing in various ingredients such as birdseed, insects, nuts, and dried fruits to create tasty and wholesome food for these birds.

Diet Variations

Robins can have a few diet variations since they are omnivores.  They can catch and eat all sorts of insects, including ones that usually don’t fall into their diet.  Robins will also often eat commercially grown fruits such as apples that are not found in their natural environment.    They can also be fed on canned dog foods or hardboiled egg yolks if food is scarce or if they are hand-reared after being orphaned.

How to Feed Robins?

These beautiful birds are relatively easy to feed.  Most robins are ground eaters, meaning they prefer to feed off the ground.  To feed them, you can lay a dish on the ground and add foods to the dish daily.  It is always best to offer a variety of foods such as fruits, seeds, and insects so robins will get enough nutrients.

You can also create a hanging suet feeder and load it with your favorite suet recipe.  Hanging feeders are ideal for keeping ants and other insects out of your bird feeds.

Robins do migrate. It is therefore important to slow down feeding when autumn arrives.  By mid-autumn, you shouldn’t be offering robins any food at all because offering them foods can discourage them from migrating.

If these birds linger for too long before migrating, they can soon die due to cold.

How Much Do Robins Eat In A Day?

Robins might be small but they do need to eat a lot to stay full of energy.  An adult robin can eat up to 14 feet of earthworms a day. They usually do focus on consuming a variety of foods.

What do Baby Robins Eat?

Baby robins are called chicks.  As hatchlings, the robin’s parents will regurgitate partly digested foods to feed the chicks.  From five days of age and on, the parents will start to offer small insects such as earthworms.  As time goes on, the size of the worms and the amount of food gradually increases.

What Do Wild Robins Eat?

In the wild, robins can only eat foods they find in their natural environment.  They mostly eat a variety of insects and they will also seek out wild fruits and berries.  Robins also eat some seeds although most of the oily seeds they can eat are a bit scarce in natural environments.

Will Robins Eat From Feeders?

These birds are a bit shy to eat from feeders.  But they can eventually learn to get their foods from feeders.  To accomplish this, you will need to offer the right foods (cut fruits, seeds, and insects) to the feeders or create tasty suet that you can add to the feeder.  Eventually, the robins will learn to come and visit your feeder every day to receive food morsels.

What Animals Eat Robins?

Robins have quite a few natural predators.  Jays and crows are some of the most famous predators of these tiny birds.  These birds can also fall victim to other predatory species such as mockingbirds, waxwings, hawks, shrikes, owls, cats, dogs, foxes, raccoons, and snakes.

Do Robins Eat Dog Food?

Robins can eat soft dog foods.  This is a good food to offer if you cannot find insects such as earthworms or mealworms to offer them.  Crumble canned dog food and hardboiled egg yolks are a protein-rich food source for robins.

Robins are wonderful birds to have in your garden.  By offering these birds the right foods at the right time, they will become frequent visitors to your garden and you will be helping their species survive.