Ruddock with charitable bill (From Smallholder)

Ruddock with charitable bill

7:00am Sunday 20th November 2011 in Conservation

ART thou the bird whom Man loves best, The pious bird with the scarlet breast, Our little English Robin; William Wordsworth 1888 As you write your Christmas, Yule or midwinter solstice greeting cards you will undoubtedly be confronted with the image of the nations favourite bird, the robin. The bird is the subject of much folk belief and also linked to this time of year in a number of ways.

The robin, which was also known in the past as the ruddock, has been associated with the birth of Jesus and is said to have used its wings to fan the flames of the fire which kept the stable warm, and in the process singed its breast so that its feathers grew back red.

It was also connected with the crucifixion and was said to have removed a thorn from the forehead of Jesus on the cross so that the blood stained its own throat and chest and it gained its characteristic colour.

In recent times, the robin was believed to be a harbinger of death and if one pecked at a window, sung its mournful “weep, weep” on the sill or hopped into the room, a bereavement would soon occur.

This superstition is thought to be related to the 16th Century tale The Babes in the Wood, in which the bodies of the abandoned children were covered in foliage by the kindly robin.

Shakespeare in Cymbeline noted that “the Ruddock would with charitable bill . . . bring thee all this . . . and furred mosse besides.” He referred to the belief that the wren and the robin would both cover the bodies of the unburied with flowers and leaves. In Brittany it was believed that the bird would sing sorrowfully beside a corpse until it is buried.

The popular rhyme Who killed Cock Robin included the lines “All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing when they heard of the death of poor Cock Robin...” and if someone killed a robin it was said that their hand would shake thereafter. If a farmer caused such a death he would expect misfortune to fall on his cattle or his property.

If a robin’s nest was destroyed, it was assumed that the house of the culprit would be so afflicted. Likewise, breaking a robin’s egg would lead to a valuable object being broken. Boys who went collecting birds’ eggs left the robin’s nests alone for fear that their fingers would grow crooked or they would break their leg or arm.

An account was recorded in East Yorkshire in 1889 of a boy who had robbed a robin’s nest whose friends chanted “Robin takker, robin takker, sin, sin, sin!” and then proceeded to hit him with their caps and knotted handkerchiefs.

Robins did not always mean bad luck, however, and some people used to wish upon seeing a robin believing that, if they didn’t they might have bad luck for the following year.

To see a robin chirping on top of a bush meant good weather, but to see them sheltering within the foliage, rain would follow.

In recent times the robin became associated with the Royal Mail as Victorian postmen initially wore a red livery and became known as Robin Redbreasts. At this time they delivered the mail on 364 days of every year and so many Christmas cards depicted robins delivering letters.

It is interesting to note that some people carried the wariness of robins to include images and would destroy such cards.

However, the relationship between the robin and midwinter could also be due to it being highly visible at this time of year, puffing out its feathers to keep warm and appearing almost tame in its search for food.

Whatever the reasoning the robin is still a very popular bird. In 1961 as a result of a survey conducted in The Times, the title of Bird of Britain was conferred on the robin by the Council for Bird Preservation. In 2006 it was voted as one of the 100 icons of England in the government’s nationwide online ICONs project organised by the DCMS.