DAYS AMONG THE ROBINS 131 



eastern Queensland. In all soberness, he relates 

 that, as he stood panting one day after felling a 

 tree, a Yellow Robin flew up, clung to his lip, and 

 pecked at the white teeth. The story is too good to 

 be doubted, especially when one remembers the pen- 

 chant which young birds have for pecking at teeth 

 when being fed from a human mouth. 



Taking the other varieties of Robin by and large, 

 the first point to strike the student is the uneven 

 and curious nature of their distribution. Why, for 

 instance, should Tasmania, which has no Shrike- 

 Robins, also be minus Scrub-Robins, Black and 

 White Robins, Red-capped Robins, and Rose- 

 breasted Wood-Robins? May we take it that the 

 island State was separated from the mainland be- 

 fore these particular branches of the family were 

 evolved? The puzzle is the more profound in 

 respect of the two birds last-mentioned; for the 

 pretty Red-cap is a close relative of the Scarlet- and 

 Flame-breasted Robins, both of which are commen- 

 surately more plentiful in Tasmania than on the 

 mainland, and the rose-breasted sprite of the woods 

 is allied to the Pink-breasted Wood-Robin, which is 

 also fairly plentiful in portions of the island State. 



Moreover, apart from the question of definite dis- 

 tribution, what a lot there is to be learned concerning 

 the seasonal movements and general wanderings of 

 certain of these birds with the roseate breasts. The 

 Red-capped and Scarlet-breasted Robins may be 

 passed over lightly. There is no particular mystery 

 about their comings and goings. They are two of 

 the three species of red-breasts which create such 

 beautiful patches of color in the green fields of Win- 



