A robin is a robin is a robin

Speranza

Commentary on the OED.

3. Chiefly N. Amer. A large, migratory thrush, Turdus migratorius (family Turdidae), which has brick red underparts and a dark head, widespread and common in North America. Also more fully American robin. Also (with distinguishing word): any of several similar American thrushes.Earlier in robin redbreast (see robin redbreast n. 2a).
1703 S. Sewall Diary 16 Mar. (1973) I. 483 The Robbins cheerfully utter their Notes this morn.
1750 J. Birket Voy. N. Amer. (1916) 13 They have‥a bird like our field fare with a red brest which they call a Robin that sings delightfully.
1808 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. I. 37 The Robin is one of our earliest songsters.
1858 H. W. Longfellow Miles Standish iii. 3 Into the tranquil woods, where blue-birds and robins were building.
1888 G. H. Kingsley in Field 16 June 869/2 In America I shoot robins and find them thrushes.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Nov. 859/3 A lovely little bird hardly as large as an American robin.
1966 Vancouver Province 19 Nov. 1/5 The robin had been sitting in a mountain ash tree in his front yard.
1987 Field Guide Birds N. Amer. (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 2) 330 Rufous-backed Robin. Turdus rufopalliatus.‥ Clay-colored Robin. Turdus grayi.
1992 J. Osborne Cardinal i. 19 Some songbirds occasionally sing from the ground. The American Robin is one of these.
1703—1992(Hide quotations)


4.
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a. Chiefly N. Amer. Any of various unrelated songbirds that resemble the European or American robin, esp. in having reddish or orange colour on the breast or underside. Usu. with distinguishing word.blue, golden, ground, Pekin, swamp robin, etc.: see the first element.
1769 R. Smith Jrnl. 18 May in Tour Four Great Rivers (1906) 41 The lively Note of the Swamp Robin, the Red Bird and other Birds from the earliest Dawn is entertaining.
1794 Philos. Soc. Trans. 4 110 This bird was the chewink, or ground robin.
1855 Orr's Circle Sci., Org. Nat. III. 265 One of the commonest species, the Baltimore Oriole,‥has received the name of fire-bird.‥ It is also called the Golden Robin.
1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 610/1 Our New England forefathers call him the ‘blue robin’.
1905 Newark (Ohio) Advocate 2 June 4/3 The Japanese nightingale, or Pekin robin, is becoming naturalized in the parks of London.
1955 Sci. News Let. 23 Apr. 271 The towhee is a bird of many aliases. ‘Ground robin’ is a popular name, and justified by his deceptively robin-like appearance.
2004 T. Wheeler Falklands & S. Georgia 62 It's easy to see why the meadowlark, with its bright red breast, is known locally as the ‘robin’ or ‘military starling’.

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The OED has this as

"3."

i.e. Use 3. To speak of "SENSE" 3 would beg the question (as Frege would have it).

"Chiefly North American: a large, migratory thrush, Turdus migratorius (family Turdidae), which has brick red underparts and a dark head, widespread and common in North America."

"Also more fully American robin."

The retronym then becomes the Old-World robin.

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"Also (with distinguishing word): any of several similar American thrushes."

The interesting point is:

"Earlier in "robin redbreast" (see "robin redbreast" n. 2a)."

---- So, it's the "robin-redbreast" (description?) we should be aiming at.

CITES:

1703 S. Sewall Diary 16 Mar. (1973) I. 483 The Robbins cheerfully utter their Notes this morn.

---- We have analysed this. Sewall was born in Hampshire, England. So we expect he had seen European robins.

"The Robbins cheerfully utter their Notes this morn."

----- Most likely, he was aware of the earlier use, "robin redbreast". Seeing that the Turdus migratorius, like the European robin, both have redbreasts, he felt like shortening 'robin-redbreast' into 'robin'.

----- The ONLY philosophical point I was considering here was whether the utterer THOUGHT that what he had seen was a specimen of the same class as the European robin redbreast. Most likely, not. He just thought that 'Robbin' would be a good appellative.

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Further quotes:


1750 J. Birket Voy. N. Amer. (1916) 13

"They have ... a bird like our field fare with a red brest which they call a Robin that sings delightfully."

This above is very complex. "They" call a robin. One wonders if the implicature is that "they" are wrong.

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In any case, Birket NEVER explains WHY "they" call "a bird like our field fare with a red breast, too", 'a robin'. Most likely because it resembled the European robin.

--- At this point one wants to know the dates of the introduction of the scientific names (or not).

THIRD QUOTE:

1808 A. Wilson Amer. Ornithol. I. 37

"The Robin is one of our earliest songsters."

Here, alla Grice, to say, "The American Robin is one of our earliest songsters" would be too informative (redundant, even).

FOURTH QUOTE:

1858 H. W. Longfellow Miles Standish iii. 3

"Into the tranquil woods, where blue-birds and robins were building."

Odd that he would use 'blue-birds' but 'robins' rather than 'robin-redbreasts'.

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FIFTH QUOTE:

1888 G. H. Kingsley in Field 16 June 869/2

"In America I shoot robins and find them thrushes."

Since Kingsley was English, I guess the implicature is that 'robin', qua American robin, is a misnomer. In England robins are NOT shot. So the mistake on the part of Kingsley is to shoot a robin. He should shoot a thrush and find a robin?

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SIXTH quote:


1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Nov. 859/3

"A lovely little bird hardly as large as an American robin."

--- not an ostrich, then.

SEVENTH quote:

1966 Vancouver Province 19 Nov. 1/5

"The robin had been sitting in a mountain ash tree in his front yard."

---- This is so late one wonders why the OED cares to quote it. Is it, like we are surprised people are STILL using 'robin' to mean the American thing?

EIGHTH quote:

1987 Field Guide Birds N. Amer. (National Geographic Soc.) (ed. 2) 330

Rufous-backed Robin. Turdus rufopalliatus.‥ Clay-colored Robin. Turdus grayi.

--- Interesting. We see that 'robin' then applies to 'turdus' per se. Interesting, this turns the 'redbreast' into an accidental rather than essential feature, in that we expect that neither the rufous-backed robin nor the clay-colored robin have redbreasts.

NINTH QUOTE:

1992 J. Osborne Cardinal i. 19

Some songbirds occasionally sing from the ground. The American Robin is one of these.

----- When is "The American robin" NOT a redundancy?



Then comes

USAGE 4.


a. Chiefly N. Amer.

"Any of various unrelated songbirds that resemble the European or American robin, esp. in having reddish or orange colour on the breast or underside."

"Usu. with distinguishing word.

blue, golden, ground, Pekin, swamp robin, etc.: see the first element.

So this gives:

blue robin
golden robin
ground robin
Pekin robin
swamp robin.

for which one is invited to check with 'blue', 'golden', etc.

Quotes:

1769 R. Smith Jrnl. 18 May in Tour Four Great Rivers (1906) 41

"The lively Note of the Swamp Robin, the Red Bird and other Birds from the earliest Dawn is entertaining."

1794 Philos. Soc. Trans. 4 110

"This bird was the chewink, or ground robin."

1855 Orr's Circle Sci., Org. Nat. III. 265

"One of the commonest species, the Baltimore Oriole,‥has received the name of fire-bird.‥ It is also called the Golden Robin."

1884 Harper's Mag. Mar. 610/1

"Our New England forefathers call him the ‘blue robin’."

1905 Newark (Ohio) Advocate 2 June 4/3

"The Japanese nightingale, or Pekin robin, is becoming naturalized in the parks of London."

1955 Sci. News Let. 23 Apr. 271

"The towhee is a bird of many aliases. ‘Ground robin’ is a popular name, and justified by his deceptively robin-like appearance."

---- THIS ABOVE IS INTERESTING. For my point is that Sewall was perhaps ALSO DECEIVED by the deceptive European-robin-like appearance of the North-American robin. Or not.

2004 T. Wheeler Falklands & S. Georgia 62

It's easy to see why the meadowlark, with its bright red breast, is known locally as the ‘robin’ or ‘military starling’.