viNAL COMMOM MISTAKES IN NATURAL HISTORY 333 



"Injurious to small children." There is a man-raised notion that 

 anything a Mouse, Crow, or Hawk assumes for its own use is 

 stolen property. Stealing has been overemphasized. If we 

 pick a blueberry by the roadside or cut a tree from our woodlot is 

 it stealing? Hens lay eggs for reproducing their kind. Are we 

 stealing when we take them to boil? The potato plant stores 

 starch in tubers for reproduction. Is man purloining when he 

 uses them for sustenance? There is the underlying principle of 

 the rights of others. When studying Hawks we should get their 

 po^'nt of view and when studying Chickens our focus must be oh 

 Chickens. The world needs training in these fundamentals which 

 must first begin in a study of nature's laws at home. It might 

 help him understand the other fellow's point of view and possibly 

 temper his sentiments as regards the rights of a starving Europe. 



What Color is the Robin's Breast? 

 The Robin Redbreast (Erythacus rubecula) of Europe is a 

 warbler and is less than half the size of the Robin (Planesticus 

 migracorius) of North America. The Robin Redbreast of the 

 Old World has been described as having a >ellowish-red breast. 

 It has become endeared to the English by coming near to their 

 homes in winter and has won a d^'stinguished place in English 

 rhyme and lore. A few of the colors mentioned by standard 

 writers are given: 



"Art thou the bird whom Man loves best, 

 The pious bird with the scarlet breast, 

 Our little English Robin?" 



— Wordsworth, Redbreast Chasing the Butterfly. 

 "In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon 

 the Robin's breast." 



— Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 

 "Robin, sir Robin, gay, red-vested knight, 

 Now you have come to us, summer's in sight." 



— Lucy Larcom, Sir Robin. 



When the early settlers came to America they cherished in 

 their minds the Robin Redbreast. When they espied the Ameri- 

 can Thrush with his home-loving spirit and chestnut hue it was an 

 easy matter to transfer the title "Robin Redbreast" to our native 

 species. In the same homelike fashion the bluebird was called 

 the Blue Robin. The English colonists to India and to Australia 



