The Robin at Arm's Length. 39 



When the young were three days old the mother passed some moments of great 

 suspense. A small flock of Crow Blackbirds alighted on her tree, but either did not dis- 

 cover the nest, or thought better of disturbing it after seeing its guardian. The wily old 

 Robin stood alert on the rim of the nest, but said never a word, a plan which good sense 

 and intelligence could not have improved upon. When the young were eight days old, 

 the entire bough was sawn off, carefully lowered to the ground and set up on the hillside. 



In exactly fifty-five minutes from the beginning of operations the mother appeared 

 with a large grasshopper, which she gave to the young, and afterwards cleaned the nest. 

 The male came also, when the comparative safety of the new conditions had become 

 apparent, but approached with more caution. At first both birds flew to the tree by 

 their accustomed paths, and examined the place where their bough had been lopped off, 

 and in their admirable and fearless manner blustered about for a while, taking no pains to 

 conceal their anger. Of course they knew where their young were all the time, for in 

 certain directions their vision is keener than any man's. 



We know well with what confidence the Robin flies direct to its nest, when no 

 danger threatens, but under the present circumstances their suspicions might well have 

 been aroused. The absence of sound and motion in strange objects is always reassuring, 

 and soon Mother Robin could be seen perched on the top of an apple tree, surveying 

 the field. She called sect ! sect ! while the grasshopper in her bill squirmed to get free, 

 and the young chirped loudly in reply. 



When their behavior is free and spontaneous it is pleasant to see these birds act 

 promptly without apparent hesitation. They haggle over nothing but follow the bent 

 of their strongest instincts. In the present case the fear which controls them for a 

 time, and overpowers their strong parental love, is gradually worn away. Suddenly 

 down comes one of the old birds with all its weight on the limb. The young have 

 felt similar vibrations before and know what to expect. Up go the three heads at 

 once, each mounted on a slender stalk, and each bearing at its apex what might suggest 

 a full-blown, brilliant flower, for as is well known, the extent of their gape is extraordin- 

 ary and the inside of the mouth has a bright orange hue. The young tremble with violent 

 emotions as they jostle, struggle, and call with undiminished zeal even after being fed. 



After the first visit had proved successful, confidence was established at once, the 

 female and later the male coming to the young at intervals of about five minutes, bring- 

 ing grasshoppers, and occasionally removing the excreta or devouring it on the spot. 

 They frequently carried five or six insects at one load, when their bills would suggest a 

 solid stalk of grasshoppers, all struggling to get free. 



The mother did not touch the nest with her feet at the time of her first visit, but 

 clasped a small vertical branch, and bent clown over her young, but ever after both birds 

 would alight on the broad rim of the nest, and from this vantage point feed, inspect, and 

 clean the young, one at a time. They suffer nothing to waste, and rarely allow a cricket 

 or grasshopper to escape, but releasing one at a time see it safely down an open mouth. 

 Then after inspection is over they fly to the nearest perch, and make haste to clean their 

 bills and set their dress in order. This done, there is often a pause of a few moments as if 

 in doubt whether to hunt more grasshoppers, to dig angleworms in yonder cornfield, or to 

 try the cherry trees along the fence-row. They will take everything which their sharp 

 eye discerns, and often pick up an insect close to the nest. 



