210 Lewis, Winter Robins in Nova Scotia. [a^u 



records, that Dartmouth and Halifax are really parts of one area, 

 for they are on opposite sides of Halifax Harbor, less than a mile 

 apart. 



With reference to the observations made in Halifax and Dart- 

 mouth, 1 wish to add that the number of indefinite observations 

 received or learned of was very great. In the presence of a very 

 considerable number of definite .observations from that area, it 

 was not thought best to make use of these indefinite ones, but a 

 very fair idea of their nature and extent was gained through con- 

 versations, intentional and accidental, and through newspaper 

 reports. After considering the matter carefully, 1 am of the 

 opinion that a conservative estimate would place the number of 

 adults who, during the winter of 1917-18, saw Robins in Dartmouth 

 or Halifax at forty per cent of the resident adult population of all 

 classes in the two communities. As scarcely any of these people 

 were intentionally looking for Robins, this would indicate a degree 

 of abundance extremely high for the time of year. 



Mr. A. Scott Dawson, in his letter of February 13 concerning the 

 large flock of Robins reported by him as remaining for some time 

 near his residence at Pictou, says, "They spend the most of their 

 time on the willows, and are picking at the bark; no doubt they 

 are getting insects, etc., there. They also visit the haw bushes 

 and the holly, as they eat both haws and berries." Those seen 

 by Mr. Wm. McNeil at Logan ville on February 8 are said to have 

 been seeking food on a manure pile. Mrs. H. T. Holmes reports 

 that the two Robins seen by her at Amherst on February 16 "were 

 busily picking among some hay in search of food." Rev. T. A. 

 Rodger states that those seen by him in Sydney were fed by his 

 children with crumbs, and Mr. Frank Little, writing from Brook- 

 field on March 25, says, " . . . . this one [winter] between January 

 20 and February 6 we fed from our back door two Robins and a 

 flock of nine Pine Grosbeaks. It was very cold here then and both 

 came daily between those dates." Several of the birds seen by me 

 were in hawthorn trees, and were feeding on the fruit, which hung 

 on the trees in considerable quantities. The two Robins seen by 

 me at Dartmouth on February 1 were hunting along the upper edge 

 of a low, sandy bank, where some plants of the upland cranberry 

 remained uncovered by the snow. When 1 examined these plants, 



