Rufous-backed Robin

Turdus rufopalliatusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Thrushes (Turdidae)

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Forest

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Casual to rare

Egg Color:

White with large splotches of red brown

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

12 - 14

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with finer materials., Mud, rootlets, moss, grasses.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

Overview

Rufous-backed Robin: Large thrush, rufous back, gray head, rump, white throat with black streaks, breast and sides are rufous-orange. Undertail coverts, belly are white. Yellow bill has black tip. Wings are rufous with gray primaries. Gray tail. Swift, direct flight with rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Rufous-backed Robin: Native of Mexico; casual but regular visitor to the southwest U.S., most often reported from southeast Arizona, but also in southern California and southwest Texas.

Breeding and Nesting

Rufous-backed Robin: Two to four white eggs with large red brown splotches are laid in a nest made of mud, rootlets, moss, and grass, lined with finer materials, and built in a tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Rufous-backed Robin: Eats mainly fruits, but also takes insects and worms. Forages in treetops or on the ground, where it hops and runs.

Readily Eats

Raisins, Currants, Nut Meal

Vocalization

Rufous-backed Robin: Song is a weak, gurgling "cheerup-chere-chere-cheerup." Call is "chuk, chuk."

Similar Species

Rufous-backed Robin: American Robin has gray-brown back, rump, and wing coverts, broken white eye-ring, black or brown head, gray-brown tail with white tail corners, rufous-red underparts, and white throat with black stripes.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Rufous-backed Robin

● Song: "cheerup-chere-chere-cheerup", "chuk, chuk"

● Foraging & Feeding: Rufous-backed Robin: Eats mainly fruits, but also takes insects and worms. Forages in treetops or on the ground, where it hops and runs.

● Breeding & nesting: Rufous-backed Robin: Two to four white eggs with large red brown splotches are laid in a nest made of mud, rootlets, moss, and grass, lined with finer materials, and built in a tree or shrub. Incubation ranges from 12 to 14 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Rufous-backed Robin: American Robin has gray-brown back, rump, and wing coverts, broken white eye-ring, black or brown head, gray-brown tail with white tail corners, rufous-red underparts, and white throat with black stripes.

Flight Pattern

Swift direct flight with rapid wing beats.

Rufous-backed Robin Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Rufous-backed Robin: Native of Mexico; casual but regular visitor to the southwest U.S., most often reported from southeast Arizona, but also in southern California and southwest Texas.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCasual to rare

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight2.7 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America