American Robin, on a February day in Brooklyn Bridge Park. This is the proverbial Early Bird. They make an early appearance at the end of winter and are seen on lawns across North America tugging earthworms from the soil. Known for their bright red-orange breasts, they are members of the thrush family. Scientific name: Turdus migratorius. Like their very distant British cousins in the flycatcher family, with colored breasts that can be reddish-orange or orange-ish red, they must have inspired the alliteration in the title of the popular 1926 song, “When the Red, Red Robin comes bob- bob- bobbin’ along.” Photo by Heather Wolf, author of BIRDING AT THE BRIDGE. Join the Eagle family of supporters and get daily updates and features (like bird of the day).