Country Mouse on robins

Despite their Christmas-card image, robins are very aggressive and attack other species around bird tables

Country mouse, Country Life magazine
country mouse new

Around the time of the winter solstice, the countryside appears to come to a stop. As we hunker down around our wood fires and Agas, the short days and cold weather bring a halt to the growth of crops. However, for our birds, it's a time of strenuous activity. With such a short space of daylight, the birds have to feed furiously so that they can survive the long, cold nights. It's a race for life. At first light, the earliest birds on the move are the blackbirds, followed by the robins and blue tits. There isn t a lot of singing, as seeking food has absolute precedence, but the robins still seem to have time to argue with each other over territory.

Despite their Christmas-card image, they're very aggressive and will attack other species around the bird tables. They're also unusual in that they will kill each other in fights for territory. During the fights, each robin attempts to pin the other to the ground with its feet, before raining vicious blows on the beaten bird's head, particularly around the eyes, which often blinds or even kills it. They're not quite as cute as they seem.

Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.