Bird- Lore 



shelf. I did not think she would touch 

 them, and it was amusing to see the puz- 

 zled look she gave them. After bringing 

 three or four more of her own selection, 

 she finally took the two inside. 



This encouraged me to help her more, 

 so I broke off twelve pieces from a peach 

 tree and laid on the shelf. Without seem- 

 ing suspicious, she took them all in but one, 

 \\ hich she dropped accidentally. It seemed 

 strange that she should want dry, hard, 

 stifl' sticks. So, to test her still further, I 

 got three pieces off the same tree, that 

 were partly green. It seemed to me they 

 would be softer and could be better fitted 

 into the nest. I realized that she could 

 not get them for herself, and wondered if 

 she wouldn't be pleased to find them on the 

 shelf where the others had been placed, 

 but I was wrong. At the first return, she 

 eyed them carefully, but went away and 

 left them. On her next return, she 

 deposited her dry stick, and when she 

 came out, she picked up one of my choice 

 green ones and flew away with it. Coming 

 back with another dry one, she carried 

 away the second, and the next time 

 the last, and went on with her dry 

 building. 



I came to the conclusion that she knew 

 what she wanted better than I did. — 

 A. H. GoDARD, Mayville, N. Y. 



Winter Robins 



In this section, at least, of Nova Scotia, 

 Robins are rarely seen in midwinter. In 

 the fall they linger on through November, 

 and are not infrequently seen during the 

 first week in December, but during the 

 latter part of that month or January and 

 February their appearance invariably 

 arouses our special interest and causes us 

 to comment upon the fact. 



On the morning of February 4, 1915, I 

 discovered one solemn-looking fellow 

 perched on a fence-rail, forlorn and dis- 

 consolate, apparently just putting in time 

 till spring comes. At my nearer approach 

 he flitted off to a spruce thicket, uttering 

 never a note. In the immediate vicinity 

 I found there were nyraerous hawthorn 



bushes, and these were laden with frozen 

 berries. The Robin was doubtless depend- 

 ent upon these berries for food, as the 

 ground was thickly covered with snow and 

 the winter is a severe one. With this food 

 and shelter, such as it is, I trust he will 

 survive to rejoice with us when the 

 April showers come to dispel the frost and 

 snow. 



In a small fishing village in Annapolis 

 County, on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, 

 during the late fall of 1910, Robins began 

 to gather in large numbers. This section 

 abounds in mountain ash or rowan trees, 

 many of which are to be found growing 

 in front yards throughout the village. 

 The birds flocked to these trees to feed 

 upon the berries which clustered with 

 great profusion that season. These ber- 

 ries do not fall when touched with frost, 

 and, as the season advanced toward 

 winter, the birds showed no disposition 

 to leave. They remained in the village 

 and immediate vicinity throughout the 

 entire winter, seeking shelter in the heavy 

 spruce woods at night and during the 

 severe storms which harass the coast. 

 When a thaw would occur, and the fields 

 become temporarily bared of snow, a 

 hundred or more would flock there daily. 

 The number that wintered there was 

 estimated to range between one hundred 

 and fifty and two hundred birds, and they 

 remained till spring came, when the 

 berries tempted them no longer. — Robie 

 W. Tufts, Wolfville, Kings Co., N. S. 



Plaster for the Robin's Nest 



Father Robin appeared one bright Sun- 

 day afternoon, March 27. He hung 

 about rather sheepishly. The season was 

 very backward, and mother Robin ling- 

 ered, arriving on the sixth day of his 

 wifeless existence. 



To encourage their nest-building, small 

 twigs, fragments of grape-vine bark, and 

 clay of various degrees of consistency were 

 placed about their feeding-grounds. 



After three weeks of resting and scout- 

 ing, they selected a crotch thirty feet up 

 on a white oak and began to carry the 



