SOMERSET HILLS 17 



ROBIN 



To most people the Robin (Plate i, 

 p. 17) is too well known to need descrip- 

 tion, and almost every one has seen the 

 Robin's nest, lined with mud, with an 

 inner lining of soft material such as 

 string, straw, etc., usually containing 

 three to five sky-blue eggs, or later the 

 yellow, unfledged young birds. I have 

 found their nests almost completely com- 

 posed of chicken feathers. In the 

 North no one would think of shooting 

 Robins, but they are frequently killed 

 by the farmers of the Southern states, 

 though in most states it is now unlawful. 



Usually, Robins do not travel in very 

 large flocks, but once, late in the fall of 

 1910, when I was at Ravine Lake at 

 dusk, thousands of Robins passed over- 

 head; hundreds more were lined along 

 the banks of the river, bathing them- 



