The Robin. ' 175 



from side to side, gently forms the rising walls to fit her 

 shapely body. 



The usual number of eggs laid is four. I never found 

 even five in a complement, though some observers report 

 occasional sets of six. The normal coloring of the eggs is 

 a uniform light greenish blue. Davie says that their av- 

 erage size is 1.16 by .80 of an inch. 



The robins are among the heralds of the day. They 

 open the daily festival of bird music with a grand concert 

 at dawn. Their earliest notes form a soft musical 

 twitter. This is followed by a loud, joyous choral, whose 

 efi'ect is increased by an accompaniment from the other 

 early vocalists. Before sunrise the robins cease their 

 warbling, and they remain quiet until the sun has ap- 

 peared above the horizon, when they again pour forth 

 their notes, continuing at intervals throughout the day. 

 Few bird biographers have referred to the varied vocabu- 

 lary at the command of the robins. They can squeak in 

 all the different keys, seeming to have perfect mastery of 

 all sharps and flats (though they squeak mostly in sharps). 

 They have a measure of shrill chirps which they use as 

 interludes to their commonest songs. The aforesaid chirps 

 are uttered in a ventriloquial manner, so that they seem 

 to issue from a more remote performer. The double -toned 

 squeaking of the robins has been described, and these utter- 

 ances are almost as common as their characteristic trills. 



But the charming feature of robin music is its delight- 

 ful uncertainty as to its modulation. The robins have no 

 recitatives — 



"The same old traditional notes," 



but they utter the passing emotions of their breasts with 

 remarkable power of improvisation. At times they are 

 inclined to be contemplative, and then their tender, 

 softened trills scarcely carry their dreamy expression to 

 the ear of the attentive listener. Again as the performers 

 sit in the inspiration of the warm sunshine, " o'errun with 

 the deluge of summer," the clear ringing carols are voice- 

 ful expressions of the true happiness which springs from 

 content. 



Late in the fall the robins leave their summer resorts 

 in the door-yards and gardens, and forming into small 



