Round robin

Children learn about robins in the wild, and ways to attract them to their garden.

Familiarise yourself with robins by reading the information below so that you can answer children’s questions.

Read your class the Robin Story (link below). Discuss it with your students. Younger children may even enjoy acting it out.

Follow the instructions overleaf to make robin mobiles with your class. Hang the completed mobiles in class. Since robins are synonymous with Christmas, the mobiles can add colour and movement to your Christmas decorations.

Send pictures of the mobiles or of the children making them, for verification.

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For more information about Dinja Waħda check out our website www.birdlifemalta.org or email dinjawahda@birdlifemalta.org or call 21347644/5/6 (office hours)

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About robinsRobins (Maltese pitirross) are unmistakable. Their orange (not red) breast sticks out a mile and they make no effort to hide it. Males and females look alike.Robins use their colour, their calls and their song as a keep-out warning sign to other robins in the area. They are very territorial and will not stand another robin in their patch. Territory is a bit of land that the bird makes its own and will not share with others of the same species. A robin’s territory could be a corner of a field or a garden, or even your school Wildlife Garden.Robins are solitary birds (no such thing as ‘a flock of robins’!) The only time two robins live together is when a male and female pair up to raise a family. After the nesting season, they go their separate ways. Some bird species pair up for life, but robins don’t.Robins are common in Malta but they don’t occur all year round. Like many other birds, robins migrate south from Europe in autumn to escape the harsh northern winters. Robins arrive in Malta in October (not at Christmas!) and every garden fills up with their familiar tik-tik-tik and thin whistle. Many stop in Malta for a few days to rest and refuel, then fly on to North Africa. Others spend the entire winter in our countryside, staying here for up to six months. In March robins start flying back north to Europe to find a place to nest. Robin song disappears from our gardens and countryside.Robins do not nest in Malta. A handful often stay the summer in cool, leafy places like Buskett, but so far robins have never been known to nest in Malta.Robins eat mostly insects and worms, but love a bird table nicely stocked with biscuit or cake!Robins are protected by law and cannot be disturbed in any way. Robin trapping was once widespread in Malta, especially among men and boys. Nowadays the habit has almost died out but some diehards persist, using illegal trabokki (traps) to catch robins. Robins refuse to eat in captivity and soon die.

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Build yourown bird table.

Follow the instructions (link

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To download the story and bird-table instructions and factfile ACTIVITIES > ROUND ROBIN > ROBIN FILE.pdfGo to www.birdlifemalta.org and click the Dinja Waħda logo

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Copy the page and colour the parts:back + wings + tail = brown face + breast = orange belly = leave whiteStick the sheet to a piece of card (used cereal carton).Cut out the four pieces.With a cutting knife, make slits through dotted lines A-A and B-B.Push the wing flaps through the cuts: C through A-A, and D through B-B.Fold down the grey wingflaps and stick to the body.Fold the main body parts down along the dotted line on the head.Fold out the small triangular flaps E and F, which together form a bigger triangle.Stick the rest of the two body parts together, and stick the tail (at G) to the tail-flaps E and F.That’s it! Hang the mobile somewhere, preferably in a group and at different heights.

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Make a Robin Mobile

Here’s how