Notes. 25 



NOTES. 



The Robin's Return — Much has been said of late concerning the 

 intelligence of birds. It is evident that birds are more or less in- 

 telligent. Whether they act entirely by instinct or whether they 

 have some mental faculties developed to a more or less degree we 

 cannot say with certainty, but some of their actions show an 

 amount of intelligence. 



In the spring of 1903 a young lady, living in a suburb of Philadel- 

 phia, Pa., found a young Robin which had evidently fallen from 

 a nest and was starving to death. She took it into the house and 

 fed it and as it grew she became very much attached to it and it 

 became very tame. After it was full grown it was allowed entire 

 freedom. Every day it would go out and forage for itself but would 

 always return at night to the house. A window was left, open a 

 few inches for it and every evening it would come into the house 

 to roost, leaving again early in the morning. 



In the late fall when the Robins were migrating it too disappeared, 

 presumably following its kin to their winter residence. 



This spring (1904) the lady was attracted by a Robin chirping 

 noisily in a tree near the house. She hardly thought it possible 

 that her Robin had returned but she went into the yard and spoke 

 to the bird in the tree. The bird at first seemed a little shy but 

 would let her approach quite close to it. At last it seemed to gee 

 more confidence and finally flew to her outstretched hand and 

 alighted upon it. 



This summer it has again been roosting within the house every 

 night and spending the day abroad. 



This not only proves that the bird returned to its haunts of the 

 preceding summer but it proves also that it was able to recognize 

 a human facp. It apparently knew its friend when it saw her after 

 an absence of several months. — Chreswell J. Hunt. 



Transilaxttm; a Robin. — Happening to be in the foundry flask 

 yard July 4, 1904, I noticed a large cope leaning against a pile of 

 flasks, the baffle boards of which made a series of shelves upon 

 which were several robin's nests; the arrangement being as in 

 the subjoined sketch. Nests Nos. 1, 2 and 3 were complete; Nos. 



4 and 5 being merely foundations. 

 Nos. 1 and 2 contained one egg each 

 partly incubated I supposed. Visit- 

 ing the nests July t>, two eggs were 

 found in nest No. 1. I called the 

 attention of the yard foreman to the 

 nests and asked him if he would try 

 to protect them from harm. He ex- 

 claimed, "Well, that is hard luck, 

 for we need that cope today." After talking it over a little, we 



