We Have a Winner!

Susan Greenberg knows her bird blunders. She is among the many readers of this blog, responding to my contest, who pointed out the avian accident in the winter edition of Woodstock Magazine (based in the tourism Mecca of Woodstock, Vermont). It’s that European Robin (Erithacus rubecula) on the cover. We don’t find those in Woodstock (or even in Woodstock, New York, on a good day).

The European Robin has no relation to our American Robin. The Euro-Robin is a member of the family called the Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae). The American is a Thrush (Turdidae). It appears their shared reddish breast gave rise to ours being called “Robin,” but beyond that the two species have little in common.

I selected Susan’s name at random from all your correct submissions. She wins a birding trip with Vermont Bird Tours. My favorite comment in the contest came from Kyle Jones at Fat Rooster farm, who wrote, “The problem with the photo is that they didn’t buy locally.”

By the way, remember “Blackbird,” the one Paul McCartney croons about? It’s almost certainly Turdus merula, an abundant Old World songbird with no relation to any American blackbird. It’s actually closely related to … American Robin. Honest. It resembles an all-black American Robin. (No wonder we went to war with the King.)