Robins
Posted by fred thurston on May 11, 2008
Q: Why don't robins eat the worms that climb out onto the asphalt after a heavy rain. Most of the worms just dry out and die. I have never seen a robin take advantage of this feast opportunity.
State: New York
A: I too have seen this phenomenon and have been unable to discover what's actually going on. I've searched many sources and found contradictory information.
As best I can tell, the following information on Wikipedia (March 2007) en.wikipedia.org is current. Check out the "Rainstorms" portion of this article. . Although this event is not yet well understood, you'll hear many who claim to know.
Sorry I can't be more helpful.
John Wiessinger ( May 11, 2008)
A: I got caught up with your question and went off on a "worm toot". You asked about Robins - sorry!!
I did find some references about Robins eating the worms that had crawled out on the sidewalk after a rain but I'm not convinced they actually saw this but simply assumed it. I have no explanation at all why they don't feed on these worms. I've heard several different reasons given but none was more than conjecture. This along with the why worms leave their burrows after a rain are both excellent questions that don't seem to have good answers yet.
John Wiessinger ( May 11, 2008)