160 ROBIN ROOSTS. 



the flight I could keep a lookout upon only 

 one side of me, and, moreover, the gather- 

 ing darkness was by that time making it 

 more and more difficult to see any birds ex- 

 cept such as passed above the dark tree line ; 

 and from what went on just about me, it was 

 evident that the number of arrivals was in- 

 creasing rather than diminishing as my count 

 fell off. There seemed to be no good reason 

 for doubting that at least two thousand rob- 

 ins entered the wood at the eastern end. 



Two nights later I stationed myself in 

 the meadow southwest of the roost. Here 

 I counted but 935 entries. The movement 

 appeared to be fully as steady as on the op- 

 posite side, but as darkness came on I found 

 myself at a great disadvantage ; a hill occu- 

 pied the background, giving me no illumi- 

 nated sky to bring the birds into relief, so 

 that I could see only such as passed close at 

 hand. Of the 935 birds, 761 came before 

 seven o'clock, but it was reasonably certain 

 that the flight afterward was nearly or quite 

 as great, only that I wanted light wherewith 

 to see it. 



On the evening of August 4th I went back 

 to the eastern end, and as the sky was per- 



