626 



AMERICAN F()Kl':SrRV 



out the winter. The robin, the bluebird, and the her- 

 mit thrush remain in Southeastern United States and 

 the solitaire and the varied thrush in the Southwest, but 

 the veerv, the oHve-backed, tjrav-cheeked and the wood 



i:\i;rv\viif.rk. a i'.worite 



Except with the gardener, who is unwilling to lose the toll of cherries or 

 herrics which is exacted in payment for the insects destroyed at other 

 times of the year. The robin is the commonest bird in the tjnited States 

 and has increased more rapidly than any other native species. 



thrush continue their journeys to Central .\inerica and 

 Northern South America. 



Of all the thrushes the robin is, of course, the best 

 known, but in coloration it is quite an aberrant member 

 of the family. It was christened the "robin" by the 

 early settlers because of its general resemblance to the 

 Ruro])ean robin, although the latter is a much smaller 

 bird. It was probably originally a forest dweller, as it 

 still is in some places, but like its European cousin, it has 

 adapted itself to human occupation of its haunts and 

 now builds its nest wherever it can find a sheltered ledge 

 about the house. Its numbers have increased probably 

 more than those of any other native bird in the United 

 States so that today it is regarded as the most abundant 

 species throughout the country. It is beloved by every- 

 one except the gardener, who is unwilling to lose the 

 toll of cherries, berries or grapes in payment for the 

 insects destroyed at other times of the year. It may 

 well be. however, that as the robin increases and the 

 native fruits give way before the cultivated varieties, 

 the robins will become a great nuisance, for fruit 

 they must have, and with no native fruit to satisfy their 

 ap])etites, the cultivated varieties nnist. of necessity, suf- 

 fer. It is a wise plan, therefore, to make provision for 

 the increase of robins and other thrushes by extensive 

 ]ilanting to furnish natural food for them. Not only 

 shiiuld individual agriculturists do this, but the States, 

 in ])lanting along highways, in ])arks and reservations. 



should include many trees of mulberry, mountain ash, 

 wild cherry or even the sweet cherry to provi<:le for 

 these beneficial birds, to furnish the much needed fruit, 

 and thus help protect the cultivated varieties in the 

 vicinity. 



The nest of the robin and indeed that of most other 

 thrushes is a rather bulky structure made of grasses 

 and straws, lined with finer grasses, and having an in- 

 ner layer of mud. The band of mud across the breasts 

 of all female robins for a short time in the spring is 

 made when the bird is shaping its nest, for when the 

 nest has been roughly plastered, the bird gets into 

 it, as if to incubate, and then by turning around and 

 around, shapes it and makes it perfectly symmetrical. 

 Three to five blue eggs are laid, which require about 

 two weeks to hatch. The young remain in the nest 

 another two weeks so tliat inside of a month the nest is 

 again empty and ready for a second brood. The same 

 nest, if in good condition, is used for the second brooil 

 and, indeed, if it is in a sheltered spot, again the follow- 

 ing spring, merely being repaired with enough new ma- 

 terial to make it strong. 



When the young are able to shift for themselves, they 

 often congregate every night in large flocks at a com- 

 mon roosting spot, perhaps led by the old males. By 

 fall, these roosts, which are usually in a dense swamp 

 or in a clump of oaks or other thick foliaged trees, are 

 very large, containing thousands of birds. 



The immature plumage of the robin, in wliich th.' 

 breast is orange-brown spotted with black and the back 



NOTICE THE SPOTS 

 These are young robins and in their juvenal plumage show a color pattern 

 through which the species has passed in its evolution. All true thrushes 

 arc spotted in the immature plumage if not in the adult. 



brownish-gray sjjotted with rusty, is worn until Sep- 

 tember or October, when it is replaced by the plumage 

 of the adult. Males and females are colored alike but 

 it takes several years to acquire the rich chestnut breast 



