THE REDBREAST. 



361 



for the great service which it has performed in the earlier portion of 

 the year by devouring the myriad insects that feed upon the bk)&soms 

 of fruit-trees. The softer berries form part of the Redstart's diet, 

 but the bird does not seem to care about the hard seeds. 



There are few birds which are more familiar to us than the Red- 

 breast, or Robin, a bird which is interwoven among our earliest rec- 

 ollections through the medium of The Children in the Wood and the 

 mournful ballad of The Death and Burial of Cock Robin. 



Although the Redbreast remains in England throughout the winter, 

 it is very susceptible to cold, and one of the first birds to seek for shel- 

 ter, its appear- 

 ance among the 

 outhouses being 

 always an indi- 

 cation of com- 

 ing inclemency. 

 In cold weather 

 the Redbreast 

 seldom perches 

 upon twigs and 

 branches, but is 

 accustomed to 

 crouch in holes 

 or to sit upon 

 the ground. The 

 bird seems to 

 be strongly at- 

 tached to man 

 and his home, 

 and will follow 

 the ploughman 

 over the fields The Redbreast {Erythams ruheadu). 



picking up the worms which he turns up with the ploughshare, or en- 

 ter his house and partake of his evening meal. 



The nest of this bird is generally placed near the ground in a thick 

 ieafy bush or in a bank, and is composed of dry leaves, moss, grass, 

 hair, and feathers. I have seen the nest very well concealed among 

 the thick ivy that had wreathed round a tree-trunk, and placed about 

 eight feet from the ground. The bird seldom flics directly to its nest 

 or leaves it directly, but alights at a little distance, and creeps through 

 the leaves or branches until it enters its home. 



The eggs of the Redbreast are generally five in number, as is the 

 case with most of the song-birds, find their color is grayish white, cov- 

 ered with variously-sized spots of pale rusty red. The song of this 

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