43 



REDBREAST. 

 Erithacus rubecula (Z.). 



Resident, widely distributed and abundant. A regular spring and 

 autumn migrant. 



Thomas Allis, in 1844, wrote : — 

 Erithaca rubicula. — Redbreast. 



The earliest reference to the Redbreast as a county bird 

 is, perhaps, contained in the following interesting letter from 

 Dr. Martin Lister to the renowned John Ray. This epistle 

 is indited from York, and is dated 8th of February 1675, 

 running as follows : — " Dear Sir, .... the Robin Redbreast 

 will not touch a hairy caterpillar, but will gladly take and 

 eat any sort of smooth one that I have given to him, and 

 there is no better way speedily to tame or make wild birds 

 sing than to give them a pleasing insect or two daily ; neither 

 this nor the thick-billed birds but will gladly eat spiders as 

 I have experienced in some kinds." 



Though generally distributed in the county, the Robin is, 

 in the dale and moorland districts, much less abundant, 

 though by no means absent, save in the wilder and uninhabited 

 localities where suitable haunts do not exist. In the populous 

 manufacturing towns its presence is most familiar in the 

 autumn and winter, for during the spring and summer months 

 many retire to nest in the more secluded parts of their im- 

 mediate neighbourhood. Usually described and considered 

 a resident species, this bird can only partially be considered 

 as such. True it is that we always have it with us, but the 

 increased attention paid to that interesting and important 

 branch of ornithology — migration — has made us aware of 

 the fact that the Redbreast is undoubtedly a migrant to and 

 from our shores. In the autumn months, from August to 

 November, many migratory Robins are observed on our 



