ROBIN 43 



only as a table delicacy, and unless given more pro- 

 tection he may soon be classed among our rarer 

 birds. In the winter of 1896-97, 2600 Robins were 

 offered for sale in the Washington market at one 

 time, but through a strict enforcement of the law 

 this trade has now practically ceased. 



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." 



