First, it is simply amazing how many robins there are about in the parks and neighborhoods of St. Louis. It occurred to me the other day, that robins probably receive a greater measure of goodwill over some other birds simply because of their red breasts. It is really nice to see a field full of robins all hopping about. Yet, some of this hopping and flitting, I believe, involves the staking out territory for mating. I have seen several full-on battles between what I believe are both male robins, as they are brightly colored. They peck at one another and fly up in the air again and again until one gets dominance over the other.

Below are two versions of the same picture in extremely high contrast, used as a sort of expressionistic effect to convey the feeling of the scene. The first is with a zoom blur; the second is without it.