298 BRITISH SONG BIRDS. 



and for the first time began to show the red feathers on their breasts. 

 For our part we never in our boyish days took the nest of the robin, 

 though we were great birds' -nesters, and have found it scores of 

 times by the sides of banks, under the roots of trees, or amid masses 

 of ivy that grew low down, we always left those beautiful pale grey 

 red-spotted eggs untouched for the love of the good old ballad of the 

 "Babes in the wood" whom Robin Redbreast "painfully'' did bury 

 beneath the leaves : 



" Leaves of all hues, gold, red, and green, 



Ruins of summer bowers ; 

 A thousand times more beautiful 

 Than all her choicest flowers." 



Gilbert White says, "I knew a tame redbreast in a cage that 

 always sung as long as candles were in the room ; but in their wild 

 state no one supposes they sing by night." They do, and we have 

 often heard them singing during a warm moonlight night. The 

 female breeds twice a year, laying each time from four to six or even 

 eight eggs ; the young birds do not show any beautiful colours 

 until they have moulted. They may be reared from the nest without 

 difficulty, if white bread soaked in milk is allowed them. The 

 plumage of the redbreast is pleasing though not showy, the head and 

 all the upper parts of its body are brown, tinged with a greenish 

 olive ; its neck and breast of a fine deep reddish orange tint, and a 

 patch of the same colour marks its forehead; its belly and vent are 

 of a dull white ; its bill is slender, eyes full, black, and expressive, 

 and its legs dusky. The female is somewhat smaller than the male, 

 and the reddish tints on the forehead and breast are riot nearly so 

 brilliant in colour. These birds may be taken in the autumn in 

 nooses baited with elderberries, on which they then very much sub- 

 sist, and which berries also should be given to them when they are 

 first put into confinement, as well as earth and meal worms, &c.; 

 they will soon become accustomed to almost any kind of food, such 

 as cheese, crumbs of bread, and little pieces of meat, and their proper 

 diet is the same as that of the nightingale. The redbreast is gene- 

 rally kept in a cage like the nightingale, and a little pan of fresh water 

 should be frequently put in, so that the bird may enjoy a bathe, a 

 diversion of which it is very fond. It may be taught to come and 

 go at command, and may be so tamed as to eat from the hand. 



Boys must have birds to rear and feed, as sportsmen must have 

 game to shoot, and if the redbreasts are taken in the nest, it had 

 better be while they are too young to pine after the hen, and that is 

 about a fortnight after they are hatched. They must be kept warm 

 but not hot; when a little sheep's heart, minced very small, may be 

 given them in small quantities at a time, and often. Never try to 

 make a young bird gape for food, it will open its beak readily 

 enough if in want of it. Remember all young birds must be kept 

 very clean ; and that a small quill cut open and round at the end is 

 the best thing to feed them out of. Too much food prepared at a 

 time soon loses its sweetness ; a bird likes everything it eats fresh 

 and sweat. 



