The Robin. 177 



the juices that Ihey are unable to fly and even fall helpless 

 for a time. The berries of the china tree particularly are 

 said to have such an intoxicating effect upon the birds. 



The food of the robin, in view of its long stay among us 

 and its abundance in our gardens and orchards, is a most 

 important subject for the consideration of every horti- 

 culturist and agriculturist. In early spring the robin is 

 the horticulturist's most valuable ally, feeding on the vo- 

 racious larval enemies of young vegetation, and thus af- 

 fording opportunity for the expanding buds to shoot be- 

 yond danger of the ravages of destructive insects. Yet, 

 withal, the robin is somewhat fond of insects which in 

 turn prey upon the insect foes of the gardener and 

 farmer. From the beginning of the fruit season, how- 

 ever, it takes ample compensation for the services already 

 rendered, feeding successively on the ripening straw- 

 berries, currants, cherries, raspberries, pears, apples, and 

 even peaches and grapes. It is especially destructive in 

 the pear tree. Being unable to carry away the fruit, it 

 takes a mouthful from one pear and then from others, 

 thus spoiling much of the luscious yield of a tree. Its 

 fall diet consists of late fruits and berries, with a larger 

 proportion of insects than in the earlier fruit season. The 

 nestlings of the first brood are fed mostly on insect food 

 while in the nest and afterwards, until the fruits offer a 

 more luxurious diet. Later broods are fed almost ex- 

 clusively on soft fruits after the first few days of nest life. 



Early one spring it was my fortune to visit the woods 

 on a bright morning before the robins had been seen in 

 numbers in town, and there I found hundreds of robins 

 mingling their voices in continuous chorus. They flitted 

 joyfully about in the gloomy shades, feeding bountifully 

 on the berries which the freezing weather had preserved 

 through the winter. Though a heavy squall of enow 

 transformed the brightness of the morning into the drear- 

 iness of a winter afternoon, their cheery trills continued 

 as loudly and as merrily as before. Indeed, the robins 

 seldom have the "blues," for whether the weather be 

 bright or dreary, they sing cheerily a-perch in the elms 

 and maples, sometimes amid beating rain, and even in the 

 driving sleet. 

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