How did the Robin bird gets its name?
In the 1600s and 1700s, when English settlers first came to American, they were often homesick and particularly missed their little ‘robin redbreast,’ a backyard songbird a bit smaller and brighter than our robin. But the rusty breast on our American bird reminded many of them of their own robin, and our birds readily came to backyards, too, so that’s how they named our bird. The word ‘robin’ is a nickname for the human name ‘Robert.’ Many people call little birds ‘Dickey birds,’ a nickname for the human name ‘Richard.’ I guess people think it’s appropriate to give human nicknames to birds that live in areas with a lot of humans!
