WHO killed cock robin? Well the answer is quite possibly cock robin for this rather confiding bird so well known for keeping us close company when we are busy in the garden is a somewhat pugnacious little character and very territorial. A fight between trespassing rivals will sometimes result in the death of one of them, but the main cause of loss of life is the daily grind of searching and finding sufficient food particularly during the winter months when coupled with the wet and cold many succumb to difficult weather conditions. Cats also kill many robins, as well as other garden bird species. The robin can occasionally be heard singing at night, especially if street lighting is close by, and is sometimes a cause of mistaken identity often by people wrongly assuming that the nightingale is the only night time singer.

The redbreast used to be the name of the robin until, with the start of the postal service and the red-coated postmen known as robins, the bird became firstly robin redbreast and eventually the redbreast portion was dropped.

Probably as a result of the increasing Victorian tradition of exchanging cards at Christmas and the association of the red-coated postman the robin became a seasonal symbol of Christmas, adorning many cards of goodwill messages. In the 1960s the robin was chosen as our national bird and after some 50 years remains as popular a choice as back then.

Its song has a melancholy sound to us, but is a means of communication for the robin, usually to proclaim a territory and warn its rivals off. In this season of goodwill, please remember not just the robin but all our garden birds and do your bit to help them through the winter by supplying a daily feed and water for them. The Oxford Ornithological Society takes this opportunity to thank all at The Oxford Times and its many readers a very merry Christmas and a prosperous new year.