In the days when we still mailed each other Christmas cards (and the South African Post Office still delivered), pictures of robins were a familiar sight. An article describes them as small birds with big personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Locally, the Cape Robin-chats are very similar. I am tempted to describe them as the Jack Russells of the bird world. Small, curious and not at all shy or scared of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Comparing the two species of cheerful garden friends is quite interesting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evidently there are many similarities between the two species. Both also hop-hop through the gardens, fields or woodland areas where they live and hunt.<\/p>\n\n\nEuropean robin<\/strong><\/td> Cape robin-chat<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> (Erithacus rubecula)<\/em><\/td> (Dessonornis caffer)<\/em><\/td><\/tr> Red breast feathers<\/td> Orange breast feathers<\/td><\/tr> Males and females look similar<\/td> Males and females look similar<\/td><\/tr> Weighs 14-25 grams<\/td> Average weight 28 grams<\/td><\/tr> Length from beak to tail tip: 12-14 cm<\/td> Length from beak to tail tip: 16-17 cm<\/td><\/tr> Sings most often at sunrise and sunset<\/td> Sings most often at sunrise and sunset<\/td><\/tr> Males and females sing<\/td> Males and females sing<\/td><\/tr> Mostly eats insects, but also seed and fruit<\/td> Mostly eats insects and small reptiles, but also seed and fruit<\/td><\/tr> Found in UK, Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia<\/td> Found in southern and eastern Africa<\/td><\/tr> Average lifespan: 13 months, but in a documented case one lived to be 19 years old<\/td> Average lifespan unknown, but in a documented case one lived to be 17 years old<\/td><\/tr> Lays 4-7 eggs<\/td> Lays 2-3 eggs<\/td><\/tr> Eggs are shades of white, speckled in reddish brown<\/td> Eggs are shades of white to pink, speckled in reddish brown<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n