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Robin is the common name for a number of songbirds, notably the American robin, Turdus migratorius, and the European robin, Erithacus rubecula, in the thrush family, Turdidae. American colonists named the medium-size (25 cm/10 in), slate-backed, russet-breasted bird they found abundant in their new land for the much smaller (14 cm/5 in), friendly robin so popular in Europe, which has a brown back and orange breast. Depending on the severity of the local winter, the robin is either a resident or a migrant. Several other thrushes and some Old World flycatchers (family Muscicapidae) also are called robins.