68 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



feelings. From the soft and mellow quality, almost as coaxing as a dove's 

 note, with which it encourages its young when just out of nest, the tone, with 

 minute gradations, becomes more vehement, and then harsh with quickened 

 reiteration, until it expresses the greatest intensity of a bird's emotion. Love, 

 contentment, anxiety, exultation, rage — what other birds can throw such mul- 

 tifarious meaning into its tone? And herein, the Robin seems more nearly 

 human than an}' of its kind." 



There is not an orchard in New England that is not enlivened by the 

 Robins. Thev always come with an atmosphere of good-will about them. 

 It is amidst the bare trees, upon the lawn, into the garden and fields, that 

 they carol their simple strains, and impart brightness like sunshine to the sur- 

 roundings. The Robin has many virtues, and his usefulness is indispensable 

 to mankind, for they devour the noxious insects and grub-worms. 



It is worth the while to watch them searching for ground-worms on plough- 

 ed ground, in the gardens and on the lawn. Suddenly you will see them stop, 

 cock their heads from side to side close to the soil, listening for the peculiar 

 sound that issues from the worms, and with a swiftness they pounce their bills 

 into the soil and jerk the worms out. They swallow their prey with a keen 

 relish, for their satisfaction seems to be expressed in the jerking of their 

 tails and beating of wings. 



It was their greediness that caused me to wonder at their appetite, for the 

 quantity of worms they devoured was amazingly large. One early morning 

 after a rain, the surface of the soil in the yard was thickly dotted over with 

 queer little thimble-like mounds, composed of soft beads of earth which the 

 army of angle-worms had deposited at the opening of their holes. The rain 

 had brought the worms out in uncounted numbers, and this harvest was ap- 

 preciated by the Robins and the Bluebirds, for their crops were crammed al- 

 most to bursting with the worms. 



The Robin has sprightly manners, is domestic in his habits, but as a builder 

 he lacks taste and judgment. His nest is such a clumsy affair and so care- 

 lessly constructed, that it is not creditable to his skill as a builder. Dry 

 grass, weed-stalks and mud, and occasionally a few feathers are the materials, 

 but alas, so poorly secured in the crotches of the apple trees, that often a 

 rain storm brings the nests to the ground. They are so social, cheerful, and 

 contented, that they are nice to have as neighbors near the house. 



The mornings invite us to go out in the orchard and revel in the pleasures 

 of seeing and hearing the early birds, for to love the feathered inhabitants is 

 to realize the keen enjoyment of life and liberty. To see and to feel the 

 grandeur and harmony of Nature's works, is to experience a wealth of happi- 

 ness and luxurv. 



