156 FORAGING HABITS OF BIRDS. 



been said that the skylark was never known to perch 

 upon a tree. These families are the guardians of the 

 soil. The thrushes do not refuse an insect or a grub 

 that is crawling upon a tree, but they forage chiefly upon 

 the surface of the ground. In the feeding habits of 

 the thrushes, their apparent want of diligence attracts 

 frequent attention ; but this appearance is delusive. 

 The common robin will exemplify their usual manner, 

 though he carries it to an extreme. When he is hunt- 

 ing his food he is usually seen hopping in a listless man- 

 ner about the field. Sometimes a dozen robins or more 

 may occupy one enclosure, but they are always widely 

 separated. Observe one of them and you will see him 

 standing still, with his bill inclined upward, and looking 

 about him with seeming unconcern ; soon he makes two 

 or three hops, and then stands a few more seconds with 

 his bill turned upward, apparently idle. Presently he 

 darts suddenly a few yards from his standing-place, and 

 may be seen pecking vigorously upon the ground. If you 

 were near him you would see him pulling out a cutworm, 

 seldom an earthworm, or devouring a nest of insects 

 which are gathered in a cluster. 



Blackbirds, though they also gather all their food from 

 the ground, seem to be more industrious. Blackbirds of 

 all species walk. They do not hop like the robin. They 

 seldom hold up their heads, but march along with their 

 bills turned downward, as if entirely devoted to their 

 task. They never seem to be idle, except when a flock 

 of them are making a garrulous noise upon a tree. If a 

 blackbird looks upward, it is only by a sudden movement ; 

 he does not stop. After watching a blackbird and a robin 

 ten minutes in the same field, any one would suppose 

 that the blackbird had collected twice as much food as 

 the robin during that time. But this is not true. The 

 difference in their apparent industry is caused partly by 



