110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



He rejects farinaceous food unless it is artificially prepared, 

 derives almost his entire support from insects and grubs, and 

 consumes, probably, a greater variety of species than any other 

 bird. I am entirely at a loss to account for this very prevalent 

 and mistaken notion respecting the frugiverous habits of the 

 robin." 



" Early in May," he says, " my son caught and caged three 

 young robins, and I encouraged him in the act, that I might be 

 enabled to study their habits of feeding. He commenced by 

 feeding them with angle worms and soaked bread, giving them 

 the latter very sparingly. They soon died, evidently from an 

 excess of the farinaceous part of their diet. He then took three 

 others from different nests, and fed them more exclusively on 

 worms, and some fruit. Two of these, also, soon died, and the 

 remaining one appeared ill and drooping. I suggested that the 

 bird probably needed insects as well as worms, which alone were 

 not sufficient to supply all the wants of the system, though he 

 had access to cherries and soaked bread, of which he could eat 

 whenever he wanted them. After this he was supplied with all 

 sorts of grubs and insects which my son was able to capture. 

 The robin devoured these indiscriminately and with great eager- 

 ness. He was never known to refuse one of any description. 

 All kinds of beetles, moths, bugs, grubs, vine worms, chrysalids 

 and caterpillars, which were presented to him, he devoured. 

 After this improvement of his diet, the bird soon recovered his 

 health, and the experiment proved conclusively that this variety 

 of insect food was necessary to the life of the bird, at least while 

 he was young." 



" These insects were not piit into his mouth ; they were placed 

 upon the floor of his cage, and he picked them up, killing' them 

 in a way that shoived that he knew instinctively how to inanage 

 them.'^ 



" He was particular in beating the vine worm considerably 

 before he . swallowed it ; but he never refused one, or neglected 

 to eat it. On one occasion, having swallowed a hard beetle, and 

 finding it ineoiamodious, ho threw it out of his crop by a volun- 

 tary effort, bea/t it awhile with his bill against the floor, and 

 then swallowed i}^ again. This fact also proved his instinctive 

 knowledga of the isaodc of proceeding in such emergencies." 



