The phrase, “The early bird gets the worm” may have resulted in the misconception that a mother or father robin only feeds their young worms. In reality, a baby robin’s diet is balanced with a variety of foods.
Feeding Routine
Both the mother and father robins feed their babies. They venture from the nest to find food for their babies that they carry back to the nest in their mouths. Upon arrival, they drop food into one of the baby mouths then leave the nest to find more food. They repeat the feeding process until all their babies have been fed.
Insects
In addition to worms, robins feed their young small insects, such as crickets, grasshoppers and beetles.
Fruits
Baby robins also feast on several fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and grapes.
Post-Nursing
Baby robins develop fairly quickly and only stay in the nest for about two weeks - 14 to 16 days - before they are ready to venture out themselves. From there, mother robins shadow their babies as they begin the process of learning how to fly.
References
Photo Credits
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Comstock/Comstock/Getty Images
Writer Bio
As a former online magazine editor, Charisse Esmeralde ran her own publication for six years. She joined Demand Studios as a writer in 2009, and her articles have been published in eHow.com. Esmeralde is also an expert navigator around MySpace and Facebook communities.
