ROBIN, 



43 



he may be seen in the Smithsonian grounds running 

 over the grass in search of grubs and angle worms. 



The friendliness of the Robin, and his joyous swing- 

 ing song have made him universally loved wherever 

 he nests, but in the south, where he winters in great 

 flocks and seldom sings, he is considered only as a 

 table delicacy, and it is feared that he may soon be 

 classed among our rarer birds. In the winter of 

 1896-7, more than 3000 Robins were offered in the 

 Washington market! 



The nest is very substantial, of coarse grasses and 

 rootlets, with an inner wall of mud and a lining of 

 fine grasses. It is built usually in fruit or shade trees, 

 but occasionally in odd places, even on the ground. 

 Two broods are raised in a season, and generally a 

 new nest is built each time, the second not far from 

 the first. The eggs, 4, are a beautiful greenish-blue 

 without marks. 



The Robin is one of our most useful birds, more 

 than a third of his food being harmful insects. Al- 

 though fond of fruit, he eats ten times as much wild 

 as cultivated, and we will not grudge him the tithe 

 he takes from our gardens and orchards, in considera- 

 tion of the inroads he makes on injurious bugs and 

 caterpillars. Dr. Coues says: " Few persons have 

 any adequate idea of the enormous, the literally incal- 

 culable numbers of insects Robins eat every year." 



