Vol "i9i9 XVI ] Lewis, Winter Robins in Nova Scotia. 211 



a few minutes later, 1 could find no fruit upon them. On February 

 12 1 saw one Robin in a mountain ash tree, planted for ornamental 

 purposes, but it flew from the tree at my approach. There was 

 no fruit remaining on that tree. 



In several instances it was reported that the Robins were as 

 bright and as lively as in the springtime, but the birds seen by other 

 observers were stated to be slow and stupid, as though weak or 

 numb. Miss Dorothy Hurtley, in a letter dated February 20, 

 says of a Robin seen in Amherst on January 28, " I thought I could 

 catch it, as it was stupid with cold, but it evaded me by flying a 

 little way ahead of me." Nearly all the Robins which I saw 

 appeared to be very loth to move, and when finally "flushed" their 

 flight was slow, short, and uncertain. Besides the killing of some 

 Robins at Yarmouth by an owl, two instances of Robins dying were 

 reported. In a letter dated February 19, Mrs. H. T. Holmes says 

 of Robins recently seen by her at Amherst, "One, while flying, 

 seemed to falter and flutter to the ground. Hoping to revive it, 

 it was brought in, but soon died, possibly starved." Miss Bertha 

 Fullerton, of Pugwash, states, in a letter dated February 26, 

 "My sister is one of the teachers here, and one morning when she 

 went to school there was a frozen Robin on her desk. Likely some 

 Oi the boys had put it there." 



In order to present as clearly and briefly as possible the fluctua- 

 tions in the number of Robins reported as observed at different 

 times during the past winter, and to facilitate comparison with the 

 local meteorological conditions at any part of that season, I have 

 prepared three graphs, which are shown herewith. They cover 

 the time from December 2, 1917, to March 16, 1918. The upper 

 graph indicates, as closely as possible, the number of Robins 

 reported to me as seen in Nova Scotia in each week of that period. 

 The second graph shows the total number of inches of snowfall at 

 Halifax for each week of the time considered, and the third graph 

 presents the weekly averages of the daily minimum temperatures 

 (Fahr.) at Halifax. To facilitate comparison, this last graph 

 has been inverted, so that lower temperature is represented in the 

 same way as is heavier snowfall or a greater abundance of Robins. 

 For the data used in preparing the two lower graphs I am indebted 

 to Mr. Fred P. Ronnan, official meteorological observer at Halifax. 



