WARBLERS. 



Sub-Family III. 

 THE ROBINS. ERYTHACIN/E* 



General Characteristics.— Bill moderate, more or less slender, and rather de- 

 pressed at the base, with the culmen slightly curved, and the sides gradually com- 

 pressed to the tip, which is entire, the lateral margins straight and sometimes inflexed, 

 the gape more or less furnished with bristles ; wings generally short and rounded, 

 though sometimes long and pointed ; the tail usually short and broad, sometimes 

 even and rounded at the end ; the tarsi lengthened, slender, and covered with an 

 entire scale ; the toes moderate, the lateral ones unequal, and the claws moderate, 

 curved, and acute. 



The Robins are named after a well-known species, found in Eu- 

 rope, where during the summer months it resides in the thickest 

 woods ; but on the approach of winter it leaves its solitary abode, 

 and may generally be observed in the vicinity of human habita- 

 tions. It is of a solitary disposition, never congregating in flocks, 

 even when performing its partial migrations. It subsists prin- 

 cipally on insects and their larva;, and also on worms, which it 

 beats to death and cleanses before eating. It shows great bold- 

 ness in attacking other birds, should they approach the vicinity of 

 its nest or the place it has selected for its own peculiar province 

 during the winter. 



The type of this sub-family is — 



The Robin Redbreast {Erythaca rnbcciild). This lively and familiar 

 bird is strictly indigenous to Europe, its range only extending eastward as 

 far as the border-line of Asia Minor. In Europe, the middle and northern 

 regions are those in which it appears to be most abundant, and over which it 

 is universally spread. Its fearless confidence in man, which leads it to fre- 

 quent his gardens and the precincts of his house; its sprightly manners, and 

 its animated song, poured forth morning and evening, even throughout the 

 autumn and colder part of the year, when all other songsters are silent, make 

 it a most welcome visitor to his habitation. Attractive as the robin is on 

 account of its pleasing manners, it is of a quarrelsome and pugnacious dis- 

 position. Two males seldom agree to live in the same garden or within a 

 certain distance, the stronger always driving away the weaker. During the 

 greater part of the year its food consists of worms, grubs, the softer cater- 

 pillars, and small insects, together with berries and fruits when in season; 

 but in the depth of winter, when its natural food cannot be procured, it sub- 

 sists upon the crumbs freely oflered wherever it presents itself. 



In spring, the robin, retiring with his mate to the woods, begins to build a 

 nest for the use of his future family. Moss and dried leaves, intermixed with 

 hair, form the nest, which is cup-shaped and lined with feathers. It is placed 

 near the ground, sheltered by the roots of trees, or sometimes in old buildings, 



* epvdalvo), erythaino, io redden. 



