° '{gjg J General Notes. 585 



male Robin conducted himself in a most unseemly manner for the greater 

 part of April at the auto station on Belle Isle, the city park of Detroit. 



During some very severe weather he came into the station one morning 

 when a door had been left open and was taken care of until the storm abated, 

 when he was permitted to depart. Immediately upon reaching the great 

 outdoors he returned to one of the windows and beat upon it. The matron 

 in charge, under the impression that he wished to come back into the warm 

 room, opened the door, but he flew away. He returned shortly and 

 renewed his attacks upon the window, but when attempts were made to 

 invite him in he left. This action on the part of the bird continued for 

 hours, day after day. He would take a position on the railing surrounding 

 that particular window and dash up on the glass repeatedly, as though 

 engaged in mortal combat, until driven away by some one. No matter 

 how often he would be frightened away he would return so quickly and 

 keep at his one-sided fight so long, it was a wonder that he found time to 

 procure necessary food. An idea of his stay on the railing may be gained 

 from the fact that the droppings underneath accumulated until the platform 

 resembled a hen house. 



Finally, by my advice, the window was smeared all over the outside with 

 a chalky substance and the Robin fought it no more, but transferred his 

 attacks to another window near the other end of the station, where he 

 again found his enemy. When this window was allowed to remain open the 

 bird would go away, but he finally discovered that any window in the 

 station furnished an adversary worthy of his prowess, so he continued to 

 fight his shadow. And as three sides of the station are of glass he was 

 kept pretty busy without being able to administer a knockout blow. 

 After each attack the hated enemy would spring up as peppery as before. 

 During the time when the bird was fighting the glass the conduct of the 

 female was most peculiar. She would remain on the lower limb of a near- 

 by tree, occasionally making remarks which might easily be translated as 

 being, " Go after him, old man, he insulted me." 



I have often seen or heard of a Robin engaging in fisticuffs with his shadow 

 on a window pane, but I never knew a bird to keep so persistently at it for 

 so long a time. — Etta S. Wilson, Detroit, Mich. 



A Three-legged Robin (Planesticus m. migratorius). — Early in June of 

 the present year Mr. H. K. Coale of Chicago presented me with the 

 skinned trunk of a young Robin that he had collected, which was found to 

 possess three perfect legs. Two of these limbs were upon the left side, the 

 lower one of the two being functional in all respects, while the other one, 

 articulated above it, was probably of no service to the bird in any way 

 whatever, although it was perfect, even to include all the toes. This 

 specimen I carefully cleaned, and found the following conditions present in 

 the pelvic part of it, all the remaining bones and articulations being perfect 

 and normal: 



The sacrum is curved uniformly throughout its length, the external 



