Notes from Field and Study 



twigs for keel-plates and the bark for 

 binding purposes; but of the prepared mud 

 they used none. 



A heavy rain of fourteen hours' dura- 

 tion came just at plastering-time. Mud 

 was abundant. Then I observed what 

 was new to me — the Robins passed by all 

 kinds of mud except the castings of 

 earthworms, which they gathered and 

 used for nest-building. 



Why the birds should prefer worm- 

 castings for plaster is a matter of specu- 

 lation. The plaster is certainly of fine 

 grain and free from grit. Perhaps the 

 process of refinement sterilizes the plaster 

 to some extent, or adds to its durability. 

 If any of the readers of Bird-Lore can 

 shed light on the matter, it would be a 

 favor to many bird-lovers. — J. H. Rohr- 

 BACH, Richmond Hill, New York. 



Chronology of a Robin Family 



I enclose what seems to me an interest- 

 ing history of one pair of Robins. 



It was rainy weather for about a week 

 which I think induced these Robins to 

 chose a sheltered spot for their nest. 



The nest was about six feet from the 

 floor of the porch. In front of the porch 

 were a large spruce tree and many avail- 

 able sites everywhere, where Robins have 

 built in other years. 



The Robins both would come within 

 a foot or so of people sitting on the lawn, 

 in search of food. 



A record of our observations follows; 



May 17, 1914. Two Robins built a 

 nest on a rolled-up porch curtain of a 

 second-story porch. This porch was then, 

 and has been ever since, occupied by 

 several persons, all day. The first of 

 three eggs was laid that day. 



May 31. The first Robin hatched. 



June I. The second Robin hatched. 



June 2. The third Robin hatched. 



June 12. The mother bird started to 

 build a second nest adjoining the first. 



June 13. The first egg laid. 



June 14. The three birds of the first 

 brood left the nest. 



June 14. The second egg laid. 



June 15. The third egg laid. 



June 28. The first Robin hatched. 

 One egg did not hatch; one bird died and 

 was carried away by the male bird. The 

 one that lived seemed very weak, always, 

 while in the nest. 



July 10. The mother bird turned her 

 young Robin into the first nest and began 

 to reline the second nest. 



July II. The young bird flew from the 

 nest. 



July 14. The first egg of the third 

 clutch laid. 



July 15. The second egg laid. 



July 16. The third egg laid. 



July 27. The first Robin hatched. The 

 other two eggs did not hatch. This bird 

 was also a weakling and badly infested 

 with lice. The mother bird hardly came 

 near the nest the last few days before the 

 last bird left the nest. 



August 10. Robin flew from the nest. 

 It had been given water with a medicine- 

 dropper on this very hot day, and he was 

 hanging over the nest and seemed to enjoy 

 !t. — Francis A. Judson, Castile, N. Y. 



THREi: OF A KIXI) 

 Pliotographed by Annie M. Richards, who writes 

 that, during the season of 1914, about fifty young 

 Wrens were raised in the dozen or more bird-boxes 

 around her home at Plymouth, Pa. 



