84 



they are solitary birds, breeding only in pairs, 

 sometimes in the most secluded portions of the 

 woods, yet a woodcutter, or other person, will 

 not be at work long in the forest, even the most 

 secluded parts of it, without having the company 

 of one or a pair of these birds, carefully picking 

 up the fragments of their meals, or the insects 

 brought to light by their operations. And in the 

 breeding season, when birds generally seclude 

 themselves, their attachment to man is exempli- 

 fied, for they will breed anywhere near him. 

 Under the eaves of the barn, in a hole in the 

 wall, in the cowhouse, or the greenhouse, they 

 will build their nest, and unsuspiciously rear 

 their brood. Sawpits used to be favorite spots 

 with them; those sawpits built with stones, 

 which I suppose are almost obsolete now : there 

 they would raise their brood some few feet from 

 where the sawyers were at work ; but there they 

 were secure, for the workmen would not molest 

 them ; and, whether it proceeded from their asso- 

 ciation with the above event, or from their ex- 

 treme sociability with man, they were generally 

 loved and cherished ; and the nest of the Robin 

 Red Breast was always spared by the boys. He 

 is now kept in cages and aviaries, and is still a 

 greater favorite than formerly, not only for his 



