62 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



incline they kicked and tossed that brilliant brigand until his plumage was in 

 sad array. 



Fall and winter. — Some of the fall and winter movements and 

 habits have been referred to above. Grinnell and Storer (1924) 

 write: "After the young are grown, family parties are to be seen for 

 a while. As soon as the young are capable of getting their living 

 independently they gather into flocks. Meanwhile the adults go off 

 by themselves and remain sequestered until completion of their 

 annual molt. Then, in late September, the robins, without regard 

 to sex or age, gather into mixed flocks and, for the most part, spend 

 the winter in such gatherings. * * * Only a few venturesome 

 robins continue in the mountains above the 3000-foot level during 

 the Sierran winter." 



W. E. D. Scott (18S8) says of the winter range of the western 

 robin in Arizona: "This form of the Robin I found to be a regular 

 fall, winter, and early spring resident in the Catalinas, altitude 3500 

 to 6000 feet. They arrive here in the fall about November 1, and 

 are soon quite common in small flocks or companies. All through the 

 winter they are more or less common, but towards spring their num- 

 bers seem to be very considerably increased, and they are quite 

 common until late in March, and are to be seen sparingly during 

 the first week in April." 



There is plenty of evidence that western robins congregate in 

 enormous numbers in winter on favorable feeding grounds, as well as 

 in winter roosts, such as that mentioned by Mr. Bolander (1932) at 

 Oakland, which he estimated to contain 165,000 birds. John B. 

 Price (1933) made some interesting observations on the winter feeding 

 territories of western robins, of which he writes: 



Two semi-albino robins were observed during the winter season at Stanford Uni- 

 versity, California. One was observed daily on the same lawn from January 19 to 

 February 18 with the exception of three days. The other was observed on an- 

 other lawn from February 12 to February 18. Each night they flew away (in all 

 probability four or five miles) to roost and returned to the same small areas before 

 sunrise the next day. This suggests that each individual robin in a flock may have 

 its own individual territory during the winter season. [The bird that he called 

 White-head] was always on the Jordan Hall lawn, and during the month of obser- 

 vation it was never once seen on the neighboring lawn in front of the Psychology 

 Building although about fifty other robins regularly foraged there. Furthermore, 

 it was always seen in the middle portion of the lawn, occasionally going into the 

 bordering bushes. This feeding territory had an area of about 400 square yards 

 and the bird was never observed to feed elsewhere. * * * 



The White-headed robin did not have exclusive possession of its portion of the 

 lawn. A few other robins fed there but they were never very close together. If 

 another robin approached too closely, White-head would drive it a few yards 

 farther on. On February 12 instead of the dozen or so there before, over fifty 



