THE NESTING OF THE ROBIN 



THERE is no British bird whose habits all the year 

 round provide more interesting, and, what is about 

 as important, more easily available matter for study 

 than the robin. And this because, having adopted 

 mankind into its scheme of life, it is a bird passing 

 through an experimental phase, imperfectly served 

 by the long-descended instincts of its race. To 

 appreciate this point it is necessary to know some- 

 thing of what may be called the stock habits of 

 the species. The range of the robin is wide, 

 including most of the European and some part 

 of the Asiatic continent, and our robins are an 

 insular strain of the family. It follows that the 

 continental robins, being the main body, will 

 exhibit to better purpose the natural manners and 

 customs of the bird than the insular detachment. 

 And the British naturalist on the continent is soon 

 struck by Jhe fact that the robin is there by no 

 means so closely associated with humanity as here. 

 It is, on the contrary, a shy bird, solitary for the 

 most part, spending the greater part of its life 

 in shady and retired parts of woods and thickets, 

 and avoiding familiarity with mankind at all times 

 almost as decisively as its most furtive relative 



the nightingale. 



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