The Audubon Societies 303 



FROM YOUNG OBSERVERS 



A MENTALLY DEFICIENT ROBIN 



Last spring a female Robin chose, as the site for her nest, the flat top of a 

 pillar on the piazza of a club house at Lake Wickaboag, West Brookfield, Mass. 

 It was an ideal place for a nest, and we, who were her observers, thought she 

 showed great wisdom in selecting it. 



She was very industrious and, the first day, brought quantities of twine 

 and dry grass with which to build her home. Her mate contributed very 

 little to the actual house-building but he sang his sweetest to cheer his spouse 

 as she worked. It seemed as if the nest would be completed within two days. 



To our surprise, however, the next morning the nest material was strewn 

 all over the piazza and the lawn, and Madame Robin was busily engaged in 

 picking it up and replacing it. We thought that perhaps rats had upset it, and 

 we admired the bird for her courage in starting all over again. 



The same misfortune came to light the following day and we decided to 

 investigate. On examination of the nest, we found that the bird had not used 

 the mud which characterizes the average robin's abode, and consequently the 

 night winds from up the lake had wrought havoc with the light, unattached 

 material. 



After a day or two her mate disappeared and did not return. She was per- 

 sistent and even tried the top of another pillar, but she had no greater success. 

 Her efforts went on fruitlessly for three weeks. Then she suddenly disappeared 

 and we saw no more of her. 



This incident has been a source of discussion among those who witnessed 

 the persistent effort of the bird, and we have come to the conclusion, finally, 

 that she was mentally deficient. No other solution seems plausible. She 

 certainly had the desire to build but evidently did not have the ability. Her 

 mate discovered it early and instead of helping her, simply deserted her for 

 a more capable wife. — John H. Conkey, Boston, Mass. 



[Interesting episodes like this are usually difficult to explain. The Robin may have been 

 mentally deficient but even a normal Robin would have difficulty in combating any agency 

 that destroyed its nest at night when it could not know what was happening. Robins or- 

 dinarily begin their nests with a platform of straws before adding the mud, and immature 

 birds, building for the first time, are often slower about beginning the mud layer. This may 

 have been an immature bird, though the persistence of its attachment to the nesting-site 

 indicates maturity. Incidentally, its persistence in nest-building, even after the disappearance 

 of the male, is a good example of the attachment of many birds to the nesting-site, rather 

 than to the mate, as mentioned in the last issue of this department. — A. A. A.] 



KILLDEERS IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY 



I feel quite proud this year, for I have found and watched the nest of a 

 bird very rare in this vicinity. (I live on a farm on Chestnut Ridge, on the 



