THRUSH COUSINS 



section of a hollow limb, closed except for one quite 

 small hole in the side, and nailed upright in a tree. 



Soon after the Bluebird, the Robins get busy with 

 housekeeping, from April 20th and on. Everyone is 

 familiar with their operations, and knows of the curious 

 sites which they select for nests. In my garden and 

 premises a pair has built on the piazza in the woodbine, 

 another on a branch extending over the front walk, and 

 two pairs close together at the same time in a shed. 

 They are fond of the apple orchard, and a hole in a 

 bank by the roadside is quite attractive. One foolish 

 pair built, flat on the ground by a roadside under a 

 projection of turf, and a kindly neighbor had to put 

 some branches in front of it to keep away cats. The 

 mother bird was so shy that she would hop out whenever 

 anyone passed by, but for a wonder she raised her 

 brood of three. This is the usual number for the 

 second brood, but it is generally four for the first, and 

 very rarely five. I only remember seeing three nests 

 with five eggs, out of the many hundreds I have ex- 

 amined. Once Ned put his hand into a Robin's nest 

 to see what was in it and broke an egg, the only time 

 I ever knew him to have such a mishap. When he 

 looked in, he saw that it was a rare set of five. How- 

 ever, the bird still had the usual number! 



Since the Robin builds so near houses it is easy and 



interesting to watch the family life. One of the prettiest 



sights in bird life, I think, is to see the mother Robin, 



on a rainy day, stand in the nest and spread out her 



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