74 RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



rival males at this season ; indeed, at all times the Robin 

 is more or less a pugnacious bird. Upon one occasion 

 I was strolling through a dense shrubbery, under the 

 gloomy yew trees, when I heard a flutter amongst the 

 withered leaves on the banks of a tiny rivulet flowing 

 down a ravine. Closer inspection revealed a bird 

 struggling in the water, and I went down the bank to 

 find out the cause of this strange proceeding, and found 

 a Robin tangled, as it appeared, in the herbage growing 

 on the water's edge. I took hold of the bird, with the 

 intention of releasing it from its captivity, and was 

 about to lift it up, when, judge of my surprise, I pulled 

 out from under the bank a second Robin, that had 

 evidently, when conquered, tried to seek safety by 

 squeezing under the bank, also in the water too. Both 

 birds, like two warriors bold, were locked in deadly 

 embrace, the one first seen being entangled in the 

 breast feathers of its antagonist by its claws ; their 

 plumage, too, was all wet and ragged, and they had 

 lost many feathers. After keeping them for a short 

 time I restored them to liberty : the victorious one, I 

 should say, flew quickly off, while its terribly exhausted 

 antagonist just managed to gain a thick bush and was 

 soon lost to view. 



The site of the Robin's nest is varied. Old walls, 

 amongst the tangled roots of trees, under banks, and on 

 their verdant sides, also amongst ivy, are all suitable 

 places to look for his abode. Robins will often choose 

 very singular sites for their nests. An old watering-can, 

 dilapidated and rust-eaten, once lay in a sunk fence, 

 several inches deep in withered leaves. In the interior 

 of this can a pair of Robins made their abode, and 

 the female bird laid two eggs, which, unfortunately, 

 were taken, and all the hopes of the little choristers 



