ROBIJN. 683 



on a fouiiilati'jn of c jarse grass. The nests are regular in form and well proportioned to the size of the bird. 

 Nests built in damp localities contain less mud than those found in drier places. Dimensions, external di- 

 ameter, 6.00. internal, 4. .50. E.xternal depth, 4.50, internal, 3.00. Eggs, four or five in number, oval in 

 form, greenish blue in color, of varying shades but generally very dark, and unspotted. Dimensions, from 

 1.05 by .80 to 1.2G by .85. 



HABITS. 



Altiiouuii the robins are sliy in luitunui and winter, they become tamer during the 

 breeding season, and may be seen hopping about the greens of our vilhiges with the ut- 

 most concern ; indeed they even visit the public j)arks of the great cities and alight on 

 tlie gras.s plats and gardens within a few feet of pedestrians. They build their nests iu 

 all sorts of localities and in the most peculiar situations. Sometimes a pine in the deep 

 woods is selected, or a cedar on a breezj' hill-top; again, a pair will build in the apple tree 

 that overhangs the formhouse, and the worthy husbandman will tell you that the same 

 birds have bred in the same locality for years. 



They seem to have a fondness for the .same place, and will often use the decaying 

 nest of the previous season as a foundation for their new structure. I knew a pair to 

 build for sever.il succes.sive years on a bracket over a window of a dwelling house; here 

 they piled mixed mud and grass, summer after summer, until they had accumulated a heap 

 of rubbish a foot in height. Another couple had strangely taken a fancy to the window 

 bracket of a house which stood but a few rods away, and which was built exactly like the 

 first. 



The birds seem to pos.sess a liking for building about houses, and 1 have seen several 

 nests in similar situations to that described above. I once found one built on the top of 

 a slatted hen pen, in a situation exposed to wind and rain. Nor do they always choose 

 the outside of buildings, but often more sensibly enter deserted edifices and there construct 

 nests. Upon visiting an ancient house at Hog Island, Mass. , in which Rufous Choate was 

 l:)orn, I found no less than four placed inside on the bi'oad window sills, the birds having 

 found entrance through some broken panes of glass. 



Individuals of this species sometimes find a natural shelter. I found a nest containing 

 four eggs in a hole in an old apple tree ; the aperture was about six inches deep and four 

 in diameter, and the nest was neatly placed in the bottom, after the manner of the Blue- 

 bird. 



Probably no bird is more assiduous in guarding its ne.st than this species. Upon the 

 slightest appearance of danger it sounds its querulous, loud alarm-note, calling the atten- 

 tion not only of its feathered friends, but of man (for nearly every one has a liking for the 

 robin ) , and in this way it procures the assistance of powerful allies. It is ever on the alert, 

 and woe betide the unfortunate urchin who has been bitten with the mania for egg collect- 

 ing, if in his meanderiiiiis over forbidden trround in search of rare nests, he chances to be 

 seen by a robin who has a nest in the vicinity. No matter if robins' eggs are not what 

 he wants, it is all the same to the anxious bird,, and lier cries ring out just as loudly as if 

 his pilfering hand was on her own lilnc eggs. This, of course, attracts the attention of 

 the owner of the forbidden land, who is on the lookout for amateur oologist.s, and the disap- 

 pointed youngster is forced to take to his heels or pay the penalty of the law. 



