116 THE ROBIN. 



autumn ; which in some measure accounts for the ex- 

 traordinary assertion of Pliny, that the redbreast is only 

 so in winter, but becomes a firetail in summer. 



The object of the song of birds is not agreed upon 

 by ornithologists, and we will not now think of it, but 

 merely in passing note how singularly timed the song 

 of the robin is. The blackbird, and the thrush, in mild 

 seasons, will sing occasionally throughout the winter ; 

 but the robin, after having been absent all the summer, 

 returns to us late in autumn, and then commences its 

 song, when most others of our feathered choristers are 

 silent. An apparent contention in harmony ensues 

 among them ; at length the rivals approach, menace, 

 and fight, with a seeming vexation at each other's prow- 

 ess. The song of no one bird is, perhaps, more observ- 

 ed and remembered than the autumnal and, at times, 

 melancholy sounding farewell of the robin. 



The chaffinch (fringilla coelebs) appears to be uni- 

 versally spread throughout the English counties, and 

 the male bird is remarkable for the cleanliness and 

 trimness of his plumage, wffich, without having any 

 great variety or splendor of coloring, is so composed 

 and arranged, and the white on his wings so brilliant, 

 as to render him a very beautiful little creature. The 

 female is as remarkable for the quiet, unobtrusive tint- 

 ings of her dress ; and, when she lies crouching on her 

 nest, elegantly formed of lichens from the bark of the 

 apple tree, and faded mosses, she would hardly be per- 

 ceptible, but for her little bright eyes, that peep with 

 suspicious vigilance from her covert. With us the sexes 

 do not separate at any period of the year, the flocks 

 frequenting our barn doors and homesteads in winter 

 being composed of both. In the northern parts of Eu- 

 rope, however, the females are said to migrate to milder 

 regions, which induced Linnaeus to bestow the name 

 of "ccelebs" upon this species. In Gloucestershire 

 and some of the neighboring counties, they are little 

 known by the name of chaffinches; but, from the con- 

 stant repetition of one note, when alarmed or in danger, 

 they have acquired the name of " twinks," and " pinks ;" 

 yet during incubation the song of the male bird, though 



