BIRDS OF INDIANA. 1159 



ing upon dogwood berries (Mrs. Sniff). They were common all winter 

 in the vicinity of Chicago, 111. (Dunn), and at Petersburg, Mich., a 

 flock of a hundred or more were present all winter feeding upon frozen 

 apples (Trombley). At Spearsville, Brown County, and Bicknell, 

 Knox County, they are usually found through the winter. 



At the height of the migration they arrive in great flocks, which 

 scatter over the country in little bands through the day and at night 

 collect in favorite roosting places, where several flocks are sometimes 

 associated together. My yard is one of these roosting sites. There 

 they may be found for two or four weeks after arrival every spring. 

 The summer residents usually arrive after the first of March, and 

 sometimes not until the latter part of that month. The latest date 

 for their arrival is in 1897, when they arrived March 25. I have 

 heard them begin singing as early as March 8 (1893) and as late as 

 March 23 (1895). The first song is sung from the top of a certain 

 maple tree in my front yard. As the time approaches, I am listening 

 for it, and often while at supper its call sounds, "cheerily, cheer up, 

 cheer up, cheerily, cheerily, cheer up," as Mr. Nehrling would inter- 

 pret it. He also gives its well-known call as "Durick, tuck, tuck, 

 tuck/' They usually begin building early in April, sometimes the 

 first week. Prof. . W. P. Shannon notes a pair at G-reensburg that 

 began their nest March 28, 1896; first egg laid, April 5; second, April 

 6; third and last, April 7; began to sit, April 8; hatched, April 21; 

 young left nest, May 3. It requires about seven days to build the 

 nest; an egg is usually laid each day; about thirteen days are required 

 for incubation, and the young remain in the nest twelve or thirteen 

 days. Two broods are reared each year and, doubtless, occasionally, 

 three. The bright color of the breast in spring has darkened by the 

 first of May or before to a dingy reddish-brown. Throughout the late 

 summer the Eobins wander over the country, in dry years seeking 

 swampy and other wet places where wild fruits are ripe and ripening. 

 Often about their breeding places they will seem quite scarce. With 

 the last of September flocks of early migrants may be seen, quietly 

 trooping through the woods, making their way southward. This is 

 continued through October and sometimes well into November. They 

 are usually rather quiet, sometimes uttering a loud cry and occa- 

 sionally voicing a few notes. I heard its well known "duridc" call 

 November 23, 1896, as strong and clear as it was the preceding spring. 

 Mr. J. G. Parker informs me the migrants sometimes linger in the 

 vicinity of Chicago until November. I have the following late fall 

 dates when they did not winter. Brookville, October 14, 1890; La- 

 fayette, October 21, 1894; Greencastle, December 15, 1893; Sedan, 



