AMERICAN ROBIN 73 



American Robin. Merula migratoria 

 10.00 



$ • — Head black, a white spot above the eye ; back grayish ; 

 wings brown ; breast bay ; tail black, outer feathers tipped with 

 white. 9 . — Head the same color as back ; breast paler than 

 in $ . Im. — Breast spotted with black. 



Nest, of grass and mud. Eggs, blue. 



Small flocks of Robins sometimes spend the winter even 

 in northern New England, feeding on the berries of the 

 mountain ash. In southern New England and the lower 

 Hudson Valley, especially near the sea-coast, Robins often 

 winter in large flocks 5 they rarely come into the villages, 

 but live in thick groves or swamps of cedar, on the berries 

 of which they feed. The flocks in winter seem to be made 

 up entirely of males. In late January or early February, 

 large flocks of Robins generally appear in the cedar groves, 

 even when there have been none observed previously. In 

 early March the resident Robins return, the males first, in 

 flocks which feed chiefly on the hillsides ; by April the 

 females appear and the pairs are scattered about the vil- 

 lages, the males joining in the early morning and evening 

 chorus. The nest is now built on the limb of a tree, or in 

 some crotch, or on a projection of a shed or piazza ; the 

 same site is often used year after year. By the end of May 

 the first brood have left the nest. The young may be 

 known by their spotted breasts and by the harsh squawk 

 which they utter. Soon a second nest is built and the male 

 again sings regularly. In midsummer the male Robins 

 and the young of the first brood repair each night to some 

 low wooded swamp ; thousands occupy one " roost," comino- 

 in from miles about. In the fall Robins linger into No- 

 vember, singing occasionally on warm mornings. 



The song is a series of phrases rising and falling, four 

 often constituting a series, which is then repeated or varied. 

 The birds sing even before it is light, and after continuing 



