ROBiisr 19 



announced that, as the Crow resorts to roosts in 

 winter and after the nesting season, the Robin 

 betakes him to simihir roosts before and dur- 

 ing the nesting season, sometimes as many as 

 25,000 birds being fonnd together.^ Most com- 

 monly, the male Robin seems to go to the nightly 

 roosts with his first brood of big spotted young 

 while his mate is on the nest with her second set 

 of eggs or young. At first this seems too much 

 like the club habit which affects family men of 

 larger growth, but on closer examination it proves 

 very harmless. Mr. Walter Faxon, a close ob- 

 server of a roosting father bird, found him a 

 most exemplary Robin. He did not leave home 

 till nearly sunset, after he had fed his little 

 family of young for the night. Then he flew to 

 the top of a spruce-tree, and, "after singing a 

 good-night to his wife and babies, took a direct 

 flight for the roost." Then next morning the 

 " model husband and father returned to his fam- 

 ily at 3.40 (sunrise, 4.29), his arrival being an- 

 nounced by his glad call and morning song." 

 Indeed, far from interfering with family life, the 

 summer Robin roosts have an important office to 

 fulfill, for in going to them the young birds are 

 taught to follow the lead of their parents, and so 

 prepared for the migration that is before them. 



On their way south, near St. Louis, Mr. Otto 

 Widmann has foimd the Robins roosting in winter 



1 The Auk\ vol. vii. No. iv. p. oGO ; The Footpath Way, p. 153. 



