h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The British Robin - A3346698
Author: Emmily (ACE/Guru) Visit Santa's Grotto ~ A3228626 for jokes, poems, fun and games ~~ Keepers A441596 - U190758

I wrote this after one of my cats bought me a dead Robin as a 'gift' and discovered there was no Robin Entry.

Emmily

Hi Emmily, Just 'bookmarking this to ensure that I read it properly later. Only thing I noticed in a quick 'skim' is that Christmas needs a capital 'C' in the first para.

BigAl, Christmas appears 4 times in the first para. and each one has a capital 'C'

Emmily

. Last line of 2nd para.

Ok I found it. Let you off this time.

Emmily

Hello Emmily

What a lovely seasonal Entry And a good one I have a few comments All intended to be helpful.

I'm not sure there is a bird actually called British Robin It's just Robin.

>>The Robin (Scientific Name: Erithacus rubecula)<< You could put the bracketed bit into a footnote. Oh, and the scientific name should be in italics.

Are they really more active in winter? I'm not sure about that. It may be that we see them more, because they come to bird feeders more in winter. But so do most birds

The first footnote I didn't know there were continental robins coming over here. Is that RSPB info?

>>with 9% was the Blackbird and Blue Tit<< replace 'was' with 'were'.

How about a few more headers?
Perhaps one along the lines of 'Distinguishing Features' or 'How to Identify A Robin' before the para about it's red breast etc.
A header before the para >>Birds follow nature's calendar...<< 'Nesting and Breeding'

>>The plumage of a young Robin is known as juvenile. It is dull specked brown all over. This soon changes after the first moult, when the Robin’s true colour grows through.<< This para belongs with the one about identification higher up.

It might be worth commenting on the general decline of garden birds in the mid- to late-20th Century and how the campaigns by RSPB, BTO and UK conservation agencies have resulted in an upsurge in interest in garden birds and their conservation. Domestic gardens are the largest nature reserve in Britain and the reduction in the use of chemicals, coupled with greater awareness of the benefits of garden birds, have helped their survival. I'm sure there's an entry on gardening for wildlife, which you could link to.

It's always good to have context

Six Frechbean

I think it's the "British" (or possibly the "European") Robin to distinguish it from the American Robin (Turdus Migratorius) which is actually a thrush (and, as all know, the robin in Mary Poppins - set in London - was shown as an American Robin).

We have a very bold robin that actually steals our cat's food. He or she will also eat from the nut feeder intended for tits, possibly looking for insects between the nuts?

Minor points in the last paragraph: I'd put:

The Robin's main predator is the cat. Although every Robin killed by a cat is one less of these delightful birds, with several million breeding pairs they are in no danger of disappearing.

Some good tips there, Frenchbean.

I'll change some, wait for other opinions on others.

I called it 'The British Robin', so the title was clear which Robin the Entry was about. If it's going to be a problem, I can easily change it to 'The Robin'.

>"Oh, and the scientific name should be in italics".*** Will change to italic.

>"Are they really more active in winter"?*** I did say "appearing to be more active" I think we do notice them more in the winter months. Maybe I can change that, to make it clearer that it is a misconception that they are more active in winter months.

>"I didn't know there were continental robins coming over here. Is that RSPB info?"***yes, and other sources too.

>"replace 'was' with 'were'"***Will do


Will add subheaders.

Will move paragraph, moved them about loads of times, trying to get in right order.

Hmmmm not sure about your last para. Not keen on going into all that, could make that Entry confusing. I'll think about that.
Have got three Wildlife Gardening Links.

Emmily

Emmily
I'm impressed with the number of links you came up with

jb

You're going to give my partner a big head...he suggesred I change last para to that before I submitted it. With two votes now, I'll change it.

Frenchbean, I'll add more links, if I find any more suitable ones.

Emmily

The species is actually called the European Robin, to distinguish it from the American Robin.

Hello Emmily

I enjoyed this entry. Just a few typos/clarifications it might be worth making:

You've capitalised Robin throughout, but I think from the writing guidelines it should be robin.

This soon changes after the first moult, 2when >
The space before the footnote number needs to be after it instead (and possibly the footnote should be before the comma but I don't know the house rules on that one)

a favourite past time > a favourite pastime

They are territorial birds,that will vigorously protect their feeding area. Breeding time, is the only time of the year in which Robins will tolerate each other. > I'd suggest losing both of the commas here, replacing the first one with a space.

Robins prefer to make their neat cup nests at ground level, either using the natural undergrowth, or artificial items such as discarded kettles and buckets. > swap either and using. Also, I think 'cup-shaped' would be clearer.

The Robins main preditor > The robin's main predator

Well done

Mol

British v European, after double checking, I have changed title to 'The European Robin' and added briefly that they are common thoughout Britain. Hope everyone is happy with that.

Mol, made all changes you suggested, except one, Robin ~ robin. I'll do that soon.

Emmily

This looks very good. I'll have a detailed trawl through it later, but I don't think there's much wrong with it.

You might like to change the title to "European Robins" to match the other bird entries already in the guide: Magpies, Common Wrens, Northern Gannets and Great Tits.

h2g2 footnotes are fiddly things - it's hard to get them in quite the right place. A footnote should be immediately after the word it is noting, with no space between the word and the footnote. If there is any punctuation, it should come after the footnote, so it will look like this¹, or like this².

Gnomon

I've made suggested changes.

I've noticed other entries don't have 'Scientific Name' in brackets, should I remove my brackets?

Emmily

I wouldn't bother removing the brackets.

I think you should think hard about your headers. They are a bit haphazard at the moment. It is normal not to have punctuation in headers.

Content:

"They are territorial birds that will vigorously protect their feeding area. Breeding time is the only time of the year in which robins will tolerate each other."

This isn't exactly true. Robins pair up and each happy couple will vigorously repel other robins, but they tolerate each other.

Now for the nitpicking:

You've included a fair few commas which shouldn't be there. Remove the commas from the following:

"The red tunic worn by postmen at the time, gave rise"

"more active in the winter months, than the rest of the year."

"the Guinness Book of Records, record for the Largest Robin Christmas Card Collection"

"Although every Robin killed by a cat, is one less of these delightful birds"

On the other hand, you need a comma and space after the of your first footnote.

I don't think it is appropriate to put a link to common wrens on the word 'common'.

You've linked 'blue tit' to the entry on 'great tits' which are a different type of bird.

Typos:

eat of of your hand --> eat out of your hand
moult --> moult
pasttime --> pastime
amongst Ivy --> amongst ivy
between 3-6 --> between three and six
cat Although --> cat. Although

Gnomon

>"This isn't exactly true. Robins pair up and each happy couple will vigorously repel other robins, but they tolerate each other".

They only pair up during breeding time, rest of year they have seperate territories, which they defend against other robins, as well as other birds.

I can change that para. to make it clearer.

Emmily

moult --> moult Gnomon I can't see what you suggest I change about that.

Emmily

From personal experience Robins are not necessarily more active in winter than say the heights of summers. It is just that with less birds around in the winter months there appears to be more robin activity.

BTW the junior section of the Boys Brigade now known as the Anchor Boys for boys aged 5-7 was oriiginally known as the Robins before they became officially a part of the oldest uniformed youth movement

Sorry, Emmily, it is hard to see. Remove the space after the word moult.