190 
ROBIN, OR REDBREAST. 
SYLVIA RUBECULA. Zemm. 
This well-known and favourite warbler is com- 
mon throughout Great Britain, its range extending 
as far north as the Orkney islands. As spring 
advances, the male bird retires to the woods, and 
having attracted a mate by its rich and mellow 
song, they soon select a suitable spot for their 
nest, which is generally placed on a mossy bank, 
some spot well concealed by the roots of trees, or 
such clefts of the rock as are overgrown with ivy 
and woodbine. ‘The nest is formed of moss, dead 
leaves, and the stalks of plants, with a lining of 
hair. The eggs, from five to seven in number, are 
of a pale yellowish grey hue, with numerous red- 
dish brown spots. As winter approaches the 
greater part of the Redbreasts leave the woods and 
seek for shelter, and an easier supply of food, near 
the habitations of man, where they soon acquire 
that degree of familiarity which has obtained for 
them the particular protection of all who admire 
the trust and confidence which they display. 
