104 THE RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 



ation of the Robin, as he sees him scouring meadows 

 and pastures in search of insects in general. It would be 

 impossible to estimate his labors in keeping in check the 

 voraciousness of insect-life. 



In this locality Robin's beautiful blue-green eggs, from 

 three to five, may be laid already by the middle of April; 

 the nest being a rough affair of stubble, coarse hay and mud, 

 lined with finer hay, and placed anywhere between the 

 ground and the top of a tree. The young resemble the 

 old, except that the breast is pale and spotted with black 

 and white. The parents are very noisy in defense of their 

 nest or young. 



Already in September the Robins begin to gather, with a 

 great deal of hurry, and bustle, and noise, and, flying to and 

 fro, in preparation for their southw^ard migration, continue 

 their leave-taking in companies till late in the fall. 



On the bright October evenings of last year (1879), when 

 the cloudless sky wore every tint of rose, violet, orange, yellow, 

 and green, all most delicately shaded into each other from 

 horizon to zenith, I used to lie down in the field and watch 

 the Robins constantly passing south, with steady stroke of 

 wing and high in air, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs, 

 sometimes in small companies. 



Some 9-10 inches long; upper parts generally dark- 

 gray; head and tail blackish; spots around the eye, under 

 the chin and on the tips of the outer tail-feathers, and the 

 vent white; breast and under parts golden-brown. 



This bird is characteristic of all North America, and to the 

 south extends a little beyond. In mild winters it may 

 remain with us in sheltered places. 



THE RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. 



It is the 5th of March, and I am in the woods on a most 



