Editing American robin (section)

== Distribution and habitat ==
[[File:Turdus migratorius confinis, Sierra La Laguna, Baja California Sur, Mexico 01.jpg|thumb|left|The most distinctive subspecies is the very pale ''T. m. confinis'', isolated in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains of southern Baja California Sur in Mexico.]]
The species breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico.<ref name="All About Birds">{{cite web|url=http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin_dtl.html |author=Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |title=American Robin |access-date=26 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070609170724/http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/American_Robin_dtl.html |archive-date=9 June 2007 |df=dmy }}</ref> While robins occasionally overwinter in the northern part of the United States and southern Canada,<ref name="ADW"/> most migrate to winter south of Canada from Florida and the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] to central Mexico, as well as along the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] Coast.<ref name="All About Birds"/> Most depart south by the end of August and begin to return north in February and March (exact dates vary with latitude and climate). The distance by which they migrate varies significantly depending on their initial habitat; a study found that individual robins tagged in Alaska are known to travel as much as 3.5 times further across seasons than robins tagged in Massachusetts.<ref name="First tracking of individual American Robins (Turdus migratorius)">{{cite web |url=https://apps.webofknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=6&SID=7EymeRQ4fvknL4VQBga&page=1&doc=2 |title=Web of Science |author=Wilson Journal of Ornithology |df=dmy |access-date=30 April 2020 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029222401/https://access.clarivate.com/login?app=wos&alternative=true&shibShireURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.webofknowledge.com%2F%3Fauth%3DShibboleth&shibReturnURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.webofknowledge.com%2F&roaming=true}}</ref>

The species is a rare [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] to western Europe, where the majority of records have been in Great Britain, where 29 had been recorded up to the end of 2022.<ref name=Clement/><ref name="BB116">{{cite journal |last1=Bacon |first1=L. |last2=French |first2=P. |author3=The Rarities Committee |title=Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2022 |journal=British Birds |date=2023 |volume=116 |issue=10 |page=587}}</ref> The species has occurred as a vagrant to Greenland, Sweden, Jamaica, [[Hispaniola]], Puerto Rico and Belize. Vagrants to Europe, where identified to subspecies, are the eastern subspecies (''T. m. migratorius''), but the Greenland birds included the Newfoundland subspecies (''T. m. nigrideus''), and some of the southern overshots may have been the southern subspecies (''T. m. achrusterus'').<ref name=Clement/>

The breeding habitat is woodland and more open farmland and urban areas. It becomes less common as a breeder in the southernmost part of the [[Deep South]] of the United States and there prefers large shade trees on lawns.<ref name="Bull87"/> Its winter habitat is similar but includes more open areas.<ref name =Clement/>

=== Diseases ===

The species is a known reservoir (carrier) for [[West Nile virus]] spread by ''[[Culex]]'' mosquitoes. While crows and [[jay]]s are often the first noticed deaths in an area with West Nile virus, the American robin is suspected to be a key host and holds a larger responsibility for the transmission of the virus to humans. This is because, while crows and jays die quickly from the virus, the American robin survives the virus longer, hence spreading it to more mosquitoes, which then transmit the virus to humans and other species.<ref name =NationalScienceFoundation2009>National Science Foundation: West Nile Virus: The Search for Answers in Chicago's Suburbs</ref><ref name =ScienceNews>[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090220191318.htm Diversity Of Birds Buffer Against West Nile Virus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901044643/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090220191318.htm |date=1 September 2018 }}. Sciencedaily.com (6 March 2009). Retrieved on 2012-08-23.</ref>

A successful West Nile virus vaccine has been administered to six 3-5 week old American robins. A [[DNA vaccine]] injected [[Intramuscular injection|intramuscularly]] resulted in a 400-fold decrease in average [[viral load]] that would likely make robins noninfectious and unable to spread disease. An oral bait is the preferred method of distribution of the vaccine as it would be easier and cheaper than intramuscular injection, but more research would be needed as the existing formulation did not work orally.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kilpatrick |first1=A. Marm |last2=Dupuis |first2=Alan P. |last3=Chang |first3=Gwong-Jen J. |last4=Kramer |first4=Laura D. |date=May 2010 |title=DNA Vaccination of American Robins (''Turdus migratorius'') Against West Nile Virus |journal=Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases |language=en |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=377–380 |doi=10.1089/vbz.2009.0029 |issn=1530-3667 |pmc=2883478 |pmid=19874192}}</ref>