The Robin 209 



larvae of crane flics (TipulidcE), which are sometimes known as leather-jackets. 

 The larvae feed on the roots of grasses, including grain crops and other plants, 

 and are sometimes quite injurious. Each of the three birds had eaten one or 

 more specimens of a leaf beetle (Myochrous denticollis) , a plant feeder, and in- 

 jurious. On a basis of the eighteen stomachs I have examined this month, I 

 consider the Robin to be essentially an insectivorous bird in Louisiana in Feb- 

 ruary. I notice that great numbers of the Robins feed in open grassy fields, 

 where their diet must consist largely of animal matter, as the birds do not eat 

 weed seeds. They are shot here from morning to night; shots are heard in 

 every direction. Each hunter kills from twenty-five to fifty per day." 



The National Association of Audubon Societies has been 

 Protection working to secure the passage of laws better calculated to pro- 



tect the Robin, and its efforts are being greatly strengthened by 

 the financial aid rendered by Mrs. Russell Sage. We believe that in every state 

 of the Union this bird should be placed on the list of protected species, and never 

 allowed to be killed as game. We hold further that, for the enforcement of 

 these and other bird and game laws, every state should establish an efficient non- 

 political game commission, and a warden force supplied with sufficient funds 

 to do its work effectively. It is simply a crime for any Commonwealth to 

 permit the indiscriminate killing of valuable insect-eating birds to continue 

 in this age of enlightenment. 



Largely as a result of the effects of the Audubon workers, only a few states 

 are left wherein the Robin is not protected. These are as follows: 



Florida. — Robins may be killed at any time. 



Louisiana. — May be killed from November 15 to March 15. 



Maryland. — May be killed in Calvert County at any time. 



May be killed in Harford County from November i to December 2. 



May be killed in Prince George County from November i to April 2. 



May be killed in Queene Ann County from October i to March i. 

 Mississippi. — May be killed from September i to March i. 

 North Carolina. — May be killed from November i to March i. (Seasons slightly 



different in certain counties.) 

 Tennessee. — May be killed from October i to April 15. 

 Virginia. — May be killed from February 15 to April i. 



The Robin (Planesticus migrator ins) belongs to the Thrush 

 Classification family {Turdidcs). It ranges throughout North America from 

 Description the southern end of the Me.xican tableland northward to 

 the limit of trees in Labrador and Alaska. In this great area 

 it is represented by three geographical races: the Eastern Robin {Planesticus 

 migratorius migrator ius), the male of which is shown in the accompanying 

 plate; the Western Robin {P. M. propinqua), which is like the Eastern bird, 

 but has little or no white in the tail and no black markings on the back; and 

 the Southern Robin {P. AI. ackrusterus), which, in the mountains, breed as 

 far south as Northern Georgia, and is smaller and paler than the northern bird. 



