26 The Birds of Albany County 



The majority of persons know Robin, by sight at least, and 

 it is safe to say that not one in a thousand would do him harm. 

 He has benefited more than any other bird by the advance of 

 man's civilization and he increases rather than diminishes in 

 numbers. Parks and lawns, where hawks never come, are 

 his favorite abiding places now, where once he was forced to 

 dwell in primeval wilds at the mercy of many natural enemies. 

 Man has acted consciously and unconsciously, as his protector. 

 To be sure we still have cats with us and it cannot be 

 overlooked that Puss is extremely fond of tender Robin, but 

 this is no reason why he should go through the world acting 

 as though every human had a gun under his coat tails. Such 

 behavior is uncomplimentary to say the least. 



Watch Robin as he hops rapidly over the close-cropped 

 grass about your home. His head is in the air and he has 

 a wild look in his eyes. Even if he stops to pull a worm out 

 of the earth he keeps well on the lookout for fancied enemies. 

 Approach him ever so gently and he flies away as though the 

 evil one were after him, uttering the while his rapid rip, rip, 

 rip, rip, rip. 



Then he uses very little discretion about his nest. If old 

 Moses Babcock, the farmer, while mowing his orchard happens 

 to swing his scythe under the fruit tree where Robin has his 

 habitation, he is promptly abused in vociferous tones by both 

 Mr. and Mrs. Robin, though any fool knows, that Farmer 

 Babcock would not harm them or their four blue eggs for a 

 hundred acres of his neighbor's best land. And if Moses 

 Babcock, Jr., should be caught by his sire in the act of 

 squirming up to the said nest, he would straightway feel the 



