BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



that bread crumbs were to be found upon the window-sill 

 of a house in Cleveland. He flew to the sill frequently. 

 When he found no crumb awaiting him, he would tap 

 on the pane, then fly away a short distance and remain 

 until a fresh supply appeared. He and his mate nested 

 in an apple-tree near by. They and their brood were 

 fed in this way the entire season by their bird-loving 

 friends, until they were in danger of becoming pauper- 

 ized! One morning the following March while the Cleve- 

 land family were breakfasting, they heard the familiar 

 tap upon the pane! There was Robin back again — you 

 may imagine his welcome! For four years, he continued 

 to announce his arrival in the same manner, and to build 

 in the same yard; each year he and his family were sup- 

 plied with part of their food by their devoted friends. 

 Then ill must have befallen him, for he never returned. 



To another Ohio woman came the joy of having a robin 

 enter her room frequently. She had tempted him with 

 crumbs inside a window-sill. One day he perched upon 

 the sewing-machine where she was at work, and sang 

 his sweet song to her, as the busy machine hummed its 

 tune. 



A robin's nest is an untidy affair, but it is something 

 that we should miss were it not a part of our environment. 

 Few birds' eggs are more lovely in color than those of 

 the familiar robins'-egg blue, nestled in their grass-lined 

 cup of clay. Olive Thorne Miller wrote of a clever robin 

 that wished to build her nest during an almost rainless 

 spring. She could find no mud, so she waded about in 

 her drinking-dish to wet her legs; she then hopped into 

 the dust, and with her bill scraped the mud off her legs. 



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