Is this Robin courting behaviour

[Stinky Bob]

Saw a couple of robins with one of the robins acting in a way that I haven't seen before. It was bowing (obviously a male then) and then arching his back and seemed to be pushing out/ruffling his feathers, two attached shots (apologies for quality) give a rough example. Is this courting behaviour!

[SuzieandFlo]

I am interested in any answers to this question too. I saw similar behaviour in my garden a few weeks ago. A Robin came into the garden and was being chased by another. Everywhere Robin 1 went , Robin 2 was chasing it. They eventually stopped on the fence and Robin 1 was facing Robin 2 with its head bowed down , tail up , wings slightly dropped , and was making gentle peeping noises. A 3rd Robin came along at that point and perched nearby , posturing in the same way as Robin 1. Was this territorial or courtship behaviour ?
I have since seen Robins in the garden together. They seem to be more tolerant of each other now , often landing , feeding and flying off together.

[solus]

Part of Robin courtship is for the female to "beg" and the male to feed her. I know that rival males can fight to the death for territory but this looks like/sounds like courtship behaviour.

[Erithacus]

Originally Posted by SuzieandFlo

I am interested in any answers to this question too. I saw similar behaviour in my garden a few weeks ago. A Robin came into the garden and was being chased by another. Everywhere Robin 1 went , Robin 2 was chasing it. They eventually stopped on the fence and Robin 1 was facing Robin 2 with its head bowed down , tail up , wings slightly dropped , and was making gentle peeping noises. A 3rd Robin came along at that point and perched nearby , posturing in the same way as Robin 1. Was this territorial or courtship behaviour ?
I have since seen Robins in the garden together. They seem to be more tolerant of each other now , often landing , feeding and flying off together.

We have a tame cock robin I've been hand feeding for some four years and I have become familiar with many of this little birds traits.
SuzieandFlo's recount above is typical of submissive behaviour most commonly adopted by females "intruding" on a males territory, as is borne out by the male’s acceptance and eventual pairing off with one of the birds. I wonder whether this display was witnessed in January – our bird has always paired off by the second week of the month. The hen enters a male robin’s territory at no small risk to herself and her strategy is one of stealthy infiltration. The cock’s aggressive bearing returns after the last fledglings have dispersed. Last year I saw a hen, having spent a convivial eight months rearing sixteen young with her mate, cowering head down, wings slightly open, her body flat to the ground as he watched indignantly from his perch, a day later and she was gone.
Stinkybob’s photos look very much like “courtship” behaviour. I know all authoritive texts say the red breast is for territorial (warning) display alone, but I have seen this reaction to a female during the mating season. Our robin was a foot in front of me at eye level when he straightened up, stuck out his breast feathers, and started swaying from side to side like a metrenome set to “adagio” (I remember thinking he would fit into a Smarty tube – to give you some idea of the spectacle), when I realised his mate had alighted behind me. Now whether this was a welcome or some misplaced resort to warning, I don’t know, but I’ve seen it on a few occasions, most recently this morning.
I wonder if anyone else has witnessed this?

[RKB]

Originally Posted by solus

Part of Robin courtship is for the female to "beg" and the male to feed her.

That isn't courtship, that's food soliciting when the female is laying or incubating - they demand food to make up for the additional nutrition needed. So it's several steps past 'courtship' as such.