52 ] The Delightful Hobby of Bird Watching 



this information handy, you can consult reference books with 

 a good chance of identifying the unknown bird. 



Some Bird Neighbors 



ROBINS MEAN SPRING is HERE 



If you have a birdbath, robins are very likely to be among 

 those patronizing it. They enjoy bathing and are friendly and 

 trusting. The robin is so well known that it is commonly used as 

 a basis for comparison with other birds that are described as 

 "larger than," "smaller than," or "about the size of/* a robin. 

 Its length is about ten inches from the tip of its bill to the tip 

 of its tail. 



In most of the United States (aside from the Gulf Coast), and 

 in Canada, robins are "summer residents"; their return to familiar 

 nesting sites is a sign of spring. You are likely to see them then, 

 hurrying about in search of building material. (Robins never 

 walk; they run.) They pick up coarse grasses, rootlets, and other 

 serviceable bits in their bills and fly to the home base. Here they 

 add their plunder to former collections. After putting it down 

 they hop on it and rapidly work it with their feet until it is 

 wedged tightly in place. Even as they do this, they turn their 

 bodies from side to side, squatting down against the nest. In this 

 way they form a depression that is really "made to measure." 

 Both male and female share in the construction work. 



The female robin lays from three to five greenish blue eggs in 

 the compact little home. Mother and father take turns sitting 

 on the eggs to keep them warm day and night. When the young 

 robins appear in about two weeks the parents continue their 

 devoted care, feeding them insects and guarding them to the best 

 of their ability from such enemies as cats, squirrels, and snakes. 

 By late June the robin family may be really sizable, for there is 

 likely to be a second brood in the nest. The young of the first 

 brood now go each night with the adult male to some favorite 

 roosting place. The mother, busy caring for her second lot of 

 triplets or quadruplets, is not forgotten by her mate, who may 

 return each day to help her with her duties. 



