The American robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering from southern Canada to central Mexico and along the Pacific coast.

According to the Partners in Flight database (2019), the American robin is the most abundant landbird in North America (with 370 million individuals), ahead of red-winged blackbirds, introduced European starlings, mourning doves and house finches.

It is among the earliest birds to sing at dawn, and its song consists of several discrete units that are repeated.

[6] The binomial name derives from two Latin words: turdus, "thrush", and migratorius from migrare "to migrate".

The adult has a brown back and a reddish-orange breast, varying from a rich red maroon to peachy orange.

[16] The bill is mainly yellow with a variably dark tip, the dusky area becoming more extensive in winter, and the legs and feet are brown.

[10] Juveniles are paler in color than adult males and have dark spots on their breasts[16] and whitish wing coverts.

[19] The species breeds throughout most of North America, from Alaska and Canada southward to northern Florida and Mexico.

[20] Most depart south by the end of August and begin to return north in February and March (exact dates vary with latitude and climate).

It becomes less common as a breeder in the southernmost part of the Deep South of the United States and there prefers large shade trees on lawns.

A DNA vaccine injected intramuscularly resulted in a 400-fold decrease in average viral load that would likely make robins noninfectious and unable to spread disease.

[26] The American robin is active mostly during the day, and on its winter grounds, it assembles in large flocks at night to roost in trees in secluded swamps or dense vegetation.

They will flock to fermented Pyracantha berries, and after eating sufficient quantities will exhibit intoxicated behavior, such as falling over while walking.

Robins forage primarily on the ground for soft-bodied invertebrates, and find worms by sight (and sometimes by hearing),[27]: 149  pouncing on them and then pulling them up.

In some areas, robins, particularly of the northwestern subspecies (T. m. caurinus), will feed on beaches, taking insects and small mollusks.

[27]: 149  It typically will take several short hops and then cock its head left, right or forward to detect movement of its prey.

Raccoons often prey upon nests, while small agile carnivores such as American martens,[33] ring-tailed cats[34] and long-tailed weasels hunt adults.

The species is one of the first North American birds to lay eggs, and normally has two to three broods per breeding season, which lasts from April to July.

[16] The nest is most commonly located 1.5–4.5 m (4.9–14.8 ft) above the ground in a dense bush or in a fork between two tree branches, and is built by the female alone.

Chicks are fed, and then raise tails for elimination of waste, a solid white clump that is collected by a parent prior to flying off.

It is commonly described as a cheery carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between.

[45] In addition to its song, the species has a number of calls used for communicating specific information, such as when a ground predator approaches and when a nest or another American robin is being directly threatened.

Even during nesting season, when they exhibit mostly competitive and territorial behavior, they may still band together to drive away a predator.

The western subspecies (T. m. propinquus) in central California is considered to be expanding its range, as is likely the case elsewhere in the United States.

[10] It is threatened by climate change and severe weather, but the population trend appears to be stable, and the species does not approach the vulnerable species thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations), and therefore International Union for Conservation of Nature evaluated it as least concern.