BLACK-BACKED ROBIN 65 



this robin "almost ubiquitous, but common only near dwellings and 

 cleared land." In his unpublished manuscript on the birds of Labrador 

 and Ungava, Lucien M. Turner reports it as common or abundant 

 all along the east coast of Labrador, but not beyond Nakvak, and 

 especially numerous about Fort Chimo, Ungava. 



Dr. Oliver L. Austin, Jr. (1932), calls it "a common summer resident 

 north to the tree line, occasionally straying farther north shortly after 

 the breeding season." He says that it "is seldom seen north of Nain, 

 where it breeds commonly about the settlement. It is usually to 

 be found in the small-tree growth, but comes out into the barren 

 coastal zone to build its nest in abandoned dwellings and under the 

 cod-flakes." 



Spring. — According to L. M. Turner (MS.), the robins arrive at 

 Fort Chimo from the 9th to the 13th of May. "The first individual 

 is always a male who sings suspiciously low, as if afraid he had come 

 too early. In a day or two after the arrival of the first male will be 

 seen a few females and as many males. I have reason to suspect that 

 they have already paired before reaching this locality, as the labor of 

 nidification begins immediately, and the first nest was obtained Jane 5, 

 containing two eggs. * * * At the date of arrival the birds 

 frequently find that several inches of snow have yet to fall and cover 

 the ground for three or four days at a time, or that a cold spell comes 

 and freezes the ground for several days and thus prevents the birds 

 from procuring mud with which to stiffen their nests." 



Nesting. — He says: "The nest of the robin is placed at various 

 distances from the ground and even in the midst of an elevated mass 

 of sphagnum rising round a clump of bushes. Many of the nests are 

 remarkable for their great bulk and when just secured have a great 

 weight from the thick mud walls." 



Townsend and Allen (1907) found a nest at Rigolet on July 18, 

 containing three eggs. "It was placed about seven feet up in a spruce, 

 near the houses of the Hudson's Bay company's post, and was con- 

 structed of twigs, lichens, and mud, lined with finer material." 



Dr. Austin (1932) says: "The Robins nest persistently under the 

 Battle Harbor flake. I have found nests there on numerous occasions, 

 but the birds are seldom successful with their broods, for the combina- 

 tion of small boys and husky dogs is deadly." 



Mr. Griscom (1926) says that in the fishing villages along the 

 Straits of Belle Isle, "it nested in the racks for drying fish, on top of 

 fences, under the wharves, and other unlikely places. A few indi- 

 viduals nest in the stunted spruces on the Blomidon tableland." 



Evidently the nests, and to some extent the nesting sites, are 

 similar to those of our familiar eastern robin, with due allowance made 

 for the difference in environment. The eggs of the two races are 



