C. Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

Our spade-perching, unofficial national bird is a resident breeder and Winter visitor from Africa. It had a stable population of 7.4 million birds in 2016, so its conservation status is GREEN. It is strongly territorial, and when vying for a mate the males will sometimes attack anything that shows a red colour, as of a rival male. Film exists of a woman wearing a red hat, and a red Post Office van, being aggressively attacked.

With a breast the colour of blood it is unsurprising that the robin in folklore is a harbinger of death, who will tap thrice on the window of the bedroom of a dying person. The bodies of the lost babes in the wood were covered with leaves by robins. Nevertheless, it is very unlucky to harm a robin, or to take its eggs or disturb its nest in any way. In some folktales the robin is associated with the discovery or bringing of fire, presumably on the basis of its red breast.