#20 - Is a robin kosher?

The common robin as in Turdus migratorius, also called the North

American Robin in practise should be regarded as not kosher. The Torah names

twenty-four types of birds that are not kosher; all the rest are kosher.

However, we do not know the exact definition of all the twenty-four types or

species of birds in the Torah, therefore, our practice is to only eat birds for

which we have a continuous tradition of their being kosher, and the robin is not

one of them.

Although robins are not normally eaten by humans, there could be a

difference in their being kosher in relation to the mitzvah of "Shiluach

Haken" (sending away the mother bird before

taking her young, and is only performed on kosher birds). It is interesting that

"Star K" on their website, lists the American Robin as a bird fit for the

mitzvah of "Shiluach Haken", (as it could very well be kosher), but no brocho

(blessing) should be recited when performing this mitzvah.

Rabbi Abraham Bartfeld as advised by Horav Shlomo

Miller Shlit"a