A Dish of Robins 99 



person than T. Gilbert Pearson, Secretary of the 

 National Association of Audubon Societies : 



"Robins in winter sometimes congregate by 

 thousands to roost at a favorite spot, and here 

 the hunters often come to take them, in the man- 

 ner, Audubon tells us, people took the Wild Pig- 

 eons during the last century. Stories of their 

 killing creep into the public press, and over their 

 coffee men marvel at the slaughter of birds that 

 goes on, sometimes in their immediate neighbor- 

 hood. Here is an authentic account of the raid- 

 ing of one such roost, given the writer by Dr. 

 P. P. Claxton, of the University of Tennessee. 

 He was familiar with many of the details, and 

 will vouch for the truthfulness of the facts here 

 set forth. He says : 'The roost to which I refer 

 was situated in what is locally known as a "cedar 

 glade, " near Fosterville, Bedford County, Ten- 

 nessee. This is a great cedar country, and Rob- 

 ins used to come in immense numbers during the 

 winter months, to feed on the berries. By the 

 middle of a winter's afternoon, the birds would 

 begin coming by our house in enormous flocks 

 which would follow one another like great waves 

 moving on in the direction of the roost. They 

 would continue to pass until night. We lived fif- 

 teen miles from the roost, and it was a matter 

 of common observation that the birds came in 

 this manner from all quarters. 



