42 ROBIN. 



bright day after the middle of February we may hear 

 his glad prophecy of spring. He has a soft contralto 

 voice, exquisitely sweet, and " the very soul of ten- 

 derness." His song is broken into short phrases, 

 often given on the wing. 



Bluebirds are among the earliest birds to build, 

 and need but little encouragement to put their sum- 

 mer home near ours. A small box with a hole in it, 

 set up on a post, pleases them as well as an elaborate 

 bird-house, and a Bluebird family will sensibly dimin- 

 ish the numbers of caterpillars, spiders, beetles and 

 grasshoppers in the vicinity. They also build in holes 

 in trees, stumps or fence posts, stuffing in, rather care- 

 lessly, dried grasses and feathers. The eggs, 4 to 6, 

 are light blue, unmarked. 



Bird lovers have noticed with regret the compara- 

 tive scarcity- of Bluebirds since the great blizzard of 

 1895, when large numbers perished, and Professor 

 Beal of the Department of Agriculture recommends 

 that " more than ordinary vigilance should be exer- 

 cised in protecting them until they have regained their 

 normal abundance." 



American Robin: Merula migratoria. 



Length 10 inches. 



Upper parts dark brownish-gray; head and tail black, the 

 outer tail-feathers tipped with white. 



Lower parts chestnut-red; throat white, streaked with 

 black. 

 Resident all the year, uncommon in summer. 



While the Robin is not common here in nesting 

 time, he is abundant in spring and fall migration, and 

 is sometimes found in winter, in small flocks in shel- 

 tered places. In April and May, or even in March, 



