60 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Harold S. Gilbert (MS.) tells the following interesting story: "Noth- 

 ing more startling in a bird way ever happened to me than during a 

 drill by the Hawaiian police (June 17, 1936), when one of their number 

 came out and did a whistling stunt. There was an audience of some 

 25,000 that witnessed the show in the Multnomah Stadium; and soon 

 after the man began to whistle, about IIP. M., a robin came down out 

 of the darkness onto the field within a few feet of the whistler (the field 

 was lighted by high-powered flood-lights), and sang as long as the 

 whistling continued. Many of us thought it was a prearranged stunt, 

 but as soon as the whistling was over, the robin flew away into the dark- 

 ness." 



Mr. Rathbun (MS.) relates the following: "While standing in the 

 road our attention was drawn to the actions of a male robin that was 

 springing about on the roadway. While we watched, the bird sud- 

 denly took wing, holding in its beak some object which proved to be 

 a small snake. We could easily see the snake writhe about, and at 

 times it appeared to have part of its length around the body of its 

 captor. The robin, not meeting with success in its attempt to carry 

 off the snake, dropped it on the road, then eyed it for a moment, 

 meanwhile cocking its head first on one side and then on the other, 

 as if puzzled by the actions of its prey. But the instant the snake 

 attempted to crawl away, the robin again seized it with the same 

 results as before. This action on the part of the bird took place four 

 times; it then gave up its attempt to take the snake and flew away. 

 We picked up the snake, which proved to be a western garter, about 8 

 inches in length. It was to all appearances uninjured, none the worse 

 for its experience." 



Robin roosts occur in the West as well as in the East and under 

 similar circumstances. L. Ph. Bolander, Jr. (1932), gives an interest- 

 ing account of a large winter roost in Lakeside Park, Oakland, Calif., 

 in which he estimated that there were 165,000 birds. Space will not 

 permit including much of his account here, but the following paragraph 

 is too interesting to omit: 



Another interesting observation connected with worm pulling by the robins is 

 the action of the gulls. I observed a Glaucous-winged Gull, three California 

 Gulls and one Ring-billed Gull standing on the grass plot amid about eighty robins. 

 Every time a robin would start pulling out a worm a gull would make a run toward 

 him. Of course the robin would let go of the worm and then the gull would gobble 

 it up! This was repeated again and again; but I could not determine whether the 

 Ring-billed Gull followed this practice, as it left soon after I arrived on the scene. 

 Sometimes the worm would come out quickly enough for the robin to get it down 

 before the gull could get on the job. If the worm was too big for the robin to 

 swallow immediately the gull would pursue it, but the robin usually dived under 

 a protecting oak tree or madrone. The gull would not follow there. 



