If you are wondering whether robins can be eaten by humans then you’ve come to the right article.
As, in this article, you’ll find the exact answer to this question, and also after you’ve read the answer to the main question then I’ll also cover a few more answers to closely related questions to extend your knowledge even more.
I hope you learn a lot from this article!
Can you eat robins?
Robin is a common, as opposed to scientific, term that refers to two distinct species of thrushes.
The American robin belongs to the Turdidae family, and British colonists named it after the European robin (or robin redbreast, as it is sometimes called), which belongs to the Old World flycatcher family.
They share a name owing to their similar orange color, despite being only distantly related species.
The American robin is much larger than its European counterpart, and for a time, it was hunted both for sport and for sustenance.
Both the American robin (Turdus migratorius) and the European robin (Erithacus rubecula) are, strictly speaking, edible.
This is a characteristic they share with almost all Aves, or birds, and especially migratory songbirds.
Despite being edible, in the United States and North America more broadly, they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 between the US, Canada, and Mexico.
The MBTA prohibits the capture, intentional killing, or sale of migratory birds, including robins.
Japan and Russia later also entered the treaty agreement.
In the United Kingdom, it is also illegal to kill, capture, or disturb the nest or eggs of any wild bird not specifically exempted by shooting licensing regulations.
The robin is not exempted.
Since there is no legal method by which robins can be legally obtained, you cannot eat them, even though they are perfectly edible and widely abundant.
Can you eat red robin birds?
A red robin is a common name primarily used in the United Kingdom to refer to the European robin (Erithacus rubecula).
However, some people in the United States also use the phrase to refer to the American robin (Turdus migratorius).
Incidentally, they are described as “red,” despite having an orange belly, simply because there was not a word for the color orange in the English language until approximately the 16th Century when fruit by that name began to be imported to Britain.
British colonists named the American robin after the European robin since it shared the “red” (that is, orange) belly of the bird with which they were more familiar.
Like other songbirds, robins are edible in a biological and nutritional sense.
However, it is illegal to capture, trade, kill, or possess them.
Within North America (including the US) doing so is punishable by fines under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Within the United Kingdom, they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Other European nations have similar laws.
Can you eat American robin birds?
The American robin (Turdus migratorius), which is not directly related to the European robin (Erithacus rubecula), is a well-known migratory songbird that is native to North America.
Robins can be found in both urban and rural environments, and in addition to cardinals, they are one of the most easily recognized and identifiable species of bird.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, makes it illegal to knowingly capture, kill, possess, or trade all native migratory songbirds, including the robin.
In the 1970s, additional countries specifically, Japan and Russia also entered into the treaty, thereby significantly extending its reach.
So, although they are edible, in all areas where they are naturally found (the US, Canada, and Mexico), you can not legally obtain them to eat them.
Is robin meat good to eat?
Before hunting and killing robins became illegal, records such as cookbooks testify to the fact that at least some people sought out and hunted robins for their meat.
Additionally, they were once hunted for sport, rather than sustenance, and they were captured to keep as pets.
To this day, poachers who flout the law and illegally kill songbirds claim that they taste very good.
In France, where robin and other songbirds were traditionally a delicacy, poaching is a particular problem.
Although there isn’t the same culinary motive within the United States, robins are also sometimes killed by poachers.
For example, in 2015, the Maryland Natural Resources Police investigated the death of 150 robins, which were found in a parking lot.
Is it illegal to eat robin meat?
It is illegal to eat robin meat since there are no legal means of procuring it.
Since the early 20th Century, when the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was ratified by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, it has been illegal to hunt or capture any migratory songbird within North America.
Since at least the time of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, it has been illegal in the United Kingdom as well.
According to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, capturing, killing, or even disturbing the nest and eggs of robins is a violation of federal law and punishable by steep fines well over thousands of dollars (the precise amount varies as legislation and executive orders often update or revise the MBTA provisions).
So, although robins are not an endangered species, they are edible, and they are found in abundance throughout the United States.
They are, however, also a protected species and, therefore, it is illegal to eat their meat.
Can you eat robin eggs?
As with almost all birds’ eggs, robin’s eggs are edible.
However, legislation in both North America and the United Kingdom prohibits knowingly tampering with or disturbing their nests and removing their eggs.
The relevant statutes are articulated within the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, in the case of North American countries, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, in the case of the United Kingdom.
Which animals eat robins?
The two species of songbirds referred to as robins are both abundant within their respective territories.
The American robin is endemic to North America and the European robin is endemic to the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.
Almost any opportunistic carnivore or omnivore will prey upon either species of robin if they get the chance to do so.
Common predators include foxes, raccoons, various raptors, such as hawks and eagles, felines including the common house cat and bobcats, and snakes.
Check out the video below if you want to see a robin and her chicks being eaten by a raccoon.
