Robin Redbreast: a rant.

I recently got a catalogue from a firm called Orvis which features a three-quarter sleeve T shirt in a choice of colours: deep coral, lapis, white, heathered lavender, orange blossom, and robin.

So: what colour do you think the robin T shirt was?


European robin, photo by Thomas Bresson




American robin, photo by Sujit kumar


Indian robin


Siberian robin, photo by Francesco Verones


Thai robin, photo by JJ Harrison 

Yep...

...bright turquoise.

I'm still trying to work that one out.

Word To Use Today: robin. This word came into being in the 1500s when someone suddenly decided that the bird looked like a Robin (as in the man's name, eg Robin Hood). 

As far as I can see we could just as easily have been calling them Egberts.