THE ROBIN. 155 
too, have brownish edgings. The white spot above the eye sometimes extends for- 
wards towards the nostrils, but is usually quite restricted. The white patches on 
the two eyelids are separated from each other, anteriorly and posteriorly. 
This very common and well-known bird is a summer in- 
habitant of -all New England, and, in mild winters, remains 
in the southern districts of these States through the year. 
The great body of the 
birds, however, arrive 
from the South about 
the middle of March. 
They commence _ build- 
ing from the middle of 
April to the first week 
in May, according to lati- 
tude. The nest is built 
more often in the trees of 
the orchards and gardens, near houses, than in the deep 
woods. It is a large, elaborately built affair, constructed first 
of a thick layer of straws, weeds, roots, and mosses: on this 
is built the nest proper, which is made of straws and weeds, 
woven together in a circular form, and plastered together 
with mud; this is lined with soft grasses and moss, the 
whole making a durable structure, often holding together 
through the entire year. The eggs are usually four in num- 
ber: their color is a beautiful greenish-blue, almost the same 
as that of the Wood Thrush’s egg, which they resemble in 
shape, except they are a trifle broader. Dimensions of a 
nest-complement of four eggs: 1.16 by .82 inch, 1.16 by .82 
inch, 1.10 by .75 inch, 1.10 by .80 inch. Many cases occur, 
in the southern districts of New England, of two broods 
being reared in the season, and I have known of three 
broods being reared in Massachusetts; but, in the northern 
districts, I think that the second brood is the exception, 
instead of the rule. 
Perhaps none of our birds are more unpopular with horti- 
culturists than this; and I will here give the observations 
