THE AMERICAN ROBIN. 



221 



Taken in Cc.nr.l Lorcr 



DINNER TIME. 



Photo by the Author. 



few belated couples, unfortunate with the early nesting or busy with a third 

 brood, they gather in little companies and feed largely upon wild fruits, on 

 wooded hillsides or in quiet out-of-the-way places. At this season, too, the 

 birds are undergoing the moult, and are indisposed for any considerable 

 activity. 



The Robin's song in its common form is too well known to require par- 

 ticular description, and too truly music to lend itself well to syllabic imita- 

 tion. It is a common thing, indeed, like the upturned mold and the air 

 which fans it, but out of these come the varied greens which beautify the 

 world ; and the homely piping of the Robin has given birth to many a heaven- 

 directed aspiration and purged many a soul of guilty intent. Robin con- 

 ceives many passages which are too high for him, and these he hums inaudi- 

 bly or follows in silent thought, like a tenor with a cold ; when the theme 

 reaches his compass again he resumes, not where he left off, but at the end 

 of the unheard passage. When the Robin is much given to half-whispered 

 notes and strains unusually tender, one may suspect the near presence of his 

 fiancee. If you are willing to waive the proprieties for a few moments you 

 will hear low murmurs of affection and soft blandishments, which it would 

 tax the art of a Crockett to reproduce. And again, nothing can exceed the 



