There have been two robins hovering around our house for a few days now that I've noticed. One of the robins spends seemingly hours alternatively spreading her wings, plucking out her feathers, and defecating while the larger robin brings her food and remains close by... almost like a lookout. Her feathers look unhealthy, almost like she's speckled and has patches where she has no feathers at all. She has bits of down poking out from beneath her feathers and she just sits in one tree or another, seemingly all day long. What could be wrong?

She could have a high parasite load. When they sit on nests they can pick up large numbers of mites. Another possible cause is also related to the nesting season...sitting on eggs can wear off some of the feathers on the breast, giving the birds a less than plush appearance. If she's still eating, moving around, and the pair are still together, that's a good sign. If she's just sitting in one spot with her feathers sort of fluffed out, that's not a good sign. Hopefully she'll do fine, and once she molts her feathers and gets the new set in she'll be good as new.