Robins and territory

[Tim Hall]

I understand that robins are very territorial, and will fight anything else with a red breast that's in its patch and isn't a mate.

But in our back garden we have a bully of a robin that scares off all the other birds. The sparrow tribe come to visit the birdfeeder. The robin sees them from willow tree, flies down and they bugger off. Is this usual or are robins just getting more aggresive?

[Basil]

Well, "Our" robin seems to be remarkably tolerant of other birds.  I think that behavior depends on the season to a certain extent.
I was very surprised to see two robins hopping around together under the feeder last winter.  I guess it was the extreme cold and shortage of food that allowed that.
Certainly couldn't happen now with the breeding season approaching.

[Peter]

Maybe someone can tell me otherwise but I don't see why birds shouldn't have mental problems, they way some humans do - plenty of dogs do!.  The succession of robins in our garden have been tolerant of the birds who come to the feeders.  The robin will take seed occasionally, especially if the winter is hard but generally they are insectivorous, I think.  Mind you, the blue-tit is supposed to be, too, but they are the kings of our feeders.  They don't bully other birds but they just flip away about a foot or so and jump in whenever the perches are vacated.  Completely fearless, beautiful birds.  Mind you, they're all beautiful, aren't they?!

[Wobbly John]

The robins round here seem much more tolerant. We have spotted up to nine at a time in our fairly small garden.

That was before we got the cat. 

[Basil]

Every one seems quite happy to co-exist on or below our feeder.  Except the nuthatches.  When they arrive, every one else has to wait in the tree.  (Except the GS woodpecker.)

[henshaw11]

More food ownership than terratorial as such - a pied wagtail last winter, which we'd not noticed in the garden before. Snow on the ground so slim pickings otherwise, but the (caged) ground bird feeder had food in it - the little bugger would feed but then hang around on or near the cage and chase off anything else that tried to get near. Disappeared again when the snow went - tho' I noticed we have another one this year, now that we've got a fat slab feed hanging in a quince bush.