210 The Robin 
parently noticing the birds. In the beginning they 
were quite easily disturbed by our presence, and also 
by the appearance of the board so near their nest; 
the fear soon passed away, however, and it was sur- 
prising to notice how quickly it was dispelled after 
we began feeding them. In two days the robins 
would take food from the board while we were at 
the window, only six feet away. 
Meanwhile the building of the nest was progressing, 
and as it was only ten feet from the widow, the process 
of construction could easily be watched. Both birds 
took part in the building, although the female seemed 
to do the most of the work, particularly the shaping 
of the nest, which was done largely by means of her 
body. The nest was finished on April twenty-fifth, 
and it was a typical robin’s nest; the bulky part 
being composed of roots and grasses, while the inner 
wall of mud was lined with very fine grass and a few 
long horse hairs. 
On April twenty-sixth the first egg was laid. On 
the second day following, another, and so on, until the 
nest contained four eggs. The eggs were deposited 
in the morning between the hours of eight and twelve, 
and were of a beautiful greenish blue color, charac- 
teristic of the family to which the robin belongs. The 
female was on the nest but little until April thirtieth, 
