De THE AMERICAN ROBIN. 
birds already located; but the latter is, I believe, usually the case. Or again 
we may conceive that the thirsty land drinks up each succeeding wave until 
its force is dissipated, or until the saturation point is reached, after which 
those which follow may pass on without loss, save of the lame and the lazy. 
Certain it is that the local population is everywhere augmented during 
March, and that great straggling fleets, composed of several hundred indi- 
viduals, pass over our heads as late as the first week in April. 
During the uncertain days of early spring 
the Robins gather in loose companies and 
keep to the seclusion of the woods, fol- 
lowing the sun from east to south and 
west, ransacking the roots of trees 
and the edges of standing water 
for food, and, above all, 
Take car Oberlin. 
ge Ete ea Photo by the Author. 
GOOD MORNING! HAVE YOU ANY WORMS FOR ME? 
sketching in the matrimonial plans of the season. When Robins have become 
common about the streets and yards of village and town, partners have usually 
been selected, but there still remain for many of the cocks hard-contested 
battles before peaceful possession is assured. ‘These are not sham fights either ; 
a Robin will fight a hated rival, beak and claw, till he is either thoroughly 
winded or killed outright. 
After the first brood is raised the males assemble nightly with the full- 
grown young in chosen roosts, while the females are undertaking the duties 
of a second brood. ‘These roosts are selected either in village shade trees 
or in thickets and rank vegetation of low-lying swampy land. Curiously 
enough they often share a bit of grove with the Bronzed Grackles, or else 
mix in freely with the Redwings in the cat-tail swamps. During July and 
August few birds are to be seen in their breeding haunts, but except for a 
