The robin has been voted Britain favourite bird and is a familiar garden companion. Beneath the charming appearance lies a territorial, sometimes aggressive bird with real welfare challenges in modern landscapes.
Robin welfare is primarily affected by domestic cat predation and window strikes in garden environments. Robins foraging on the ground are highly vulnerable to cat ambush. Window strikes occur when territorial robins attack their own reflections or when birds attempt to fly through apparent gaps in glass. These are preventable deaths that can be substantially reduced through responsible cat ownership and window safety measures. The apparent tameness of robins reflects a learned association with human activity that puts them at risk from the same human-associated threats that affect other garden birds.