Editing American robin (section)

=== Diet ===

The diet generally consists of around 40 percent small invertebrates (mainly insects), such as earthworms, beetle [[Larva|grub]]s, caterpillars, and grasshoppers, and 60 percent wild and cultivated fruits and berries.<ref name="ADW"/> Their ability to switch to berries allows them to winter much farther north than most other North American thrushes. They will flock to fermented ''[[Pyracantha]]'' berries, and after eating sufficient quantities will exhibit intoxicated behavior, such as falling over while walking. Robins forage primarily on the ground for soft-bodied invertebrates, and find worms by sight (and sometimes by hearing),<ref name= montgomerie/>{{rp|149}} pouncing on them and then pulling them up.<ref name="All About Birds"/> Nestlings are fed mainly on earthworms and other soft-bodied animal prey. In some areas, robins, particularly of the northwestern subspecies (''T. m. caurinus''), will feed on beaches, taking insects and small mollusks.<ref name = Clement/> American robins are common [[avian pest|pests]] of [[fruit orchard]]s in North America.<ref name="Rio-et-al-1992">{{cite journal | last1=Martínez del Rio | first1=C. | last2=Baker | first2=H. G. | last3=Baker | first3=I. | title=Ecological and evolutionary implications of digestive processes: Bird preferences and the sugar constituents of floral nectar and fruit pulp | journal=[[Experientia]] | publisher=[[Birkhäuser]] | volume=48 | issue=6 | year=1992 | issn=0014-4754 | doi=10.1007/bf01920237 | pages=544–551 | s2cid=25707787}}</ref> Due to their [[insectivorous]] and [[frugivorous]] diet they have evolved to lose [[sucrase]].<ref name="Rio-et-al-1992" /> [[Sucrose]] is unpalatable to them and can be used by humans as a deterrent.<ref name="Brugger-Nelms-1991">{{cite journal |last1=Brugger |first1=Kristin E. |last2=Nelms |first2=Curtis O. |year=1991 |title=Sucrose avoidance by American robins (''Turdus migratorius''): Implications for control of bird damage in fruit crops |journal=[[Crop Protection (journal)|Crop Protection]] |publisher=[[Butterworth-Heinemann]] |volume=10 |issue=6 |pages=455–460 |doi=10.1016/s0261-2194(91)80110-2 |bibcode=1991CrPro..10..455B |issn=0261-2194 |s2cid=83501487}}</ref><ref name="Rio-et-al-1992" />

The species uses auditory, visual, olfactory and possibly vibrotactile cues to find prey, but vision is the predominant mode of prey detection.<ref name= montgomerie>{{cite journal |last1=Montgomerie |first1=Robert |last2=Weatherhead |first2=Patrick J. |year=1997 |title=How robins find worms |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=54 |pages=143–151 |url=http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/360/article.pdf |doi=10.1006/anbe.1996.0411 |pmid=9268444 |issue=1 |s2cid=6044211 |access-date=28 July 2012 |archive-date=25 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025002030/http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/360/article.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> It is frequently seen running across lawns picking up earthworms, and its ''running and stopping'' behavior is a distinguishing characteristic. In addition to hunting visually, it also has the ability to hunt by hearing. Experiments have shown that it can find earthworms underground by simply using its listening skills.<ref name= montgomerie/>{{rp|149}} It typically will take several short hops and then cock its head left, right or forward to detect movement of its prey. In urban areas, robins will gather in numbers soon after lawns are mowed or where sprinklers are in use.<ref name="All About Birds"/>