ROBIN REDBREAST, 183 



How familiar a bird in Western Europe is the Robin, 

 or Redbreast — that time-old favourite of man, long " sacred 

 to the household gods," and the hero of so many picturesque 

 legends ! Tliough not much seen in the summer, when it 

 seeks the woodlands, it is always with us; and the first 

 frown of winter brings him back to our threshold, to crave 

 the hospitality which is never denied. Timorous at first, 

 he beats against the window, or taps at it with tiny bill ; 

 then, as he grows more confident, alights on the genial 

 hearth, and " hopping o'er the floor, eyes all the smiling 

 family askance," pecking and starting and wondering at 

 the strange objects around him — until, his traditional 

 trustfulness being fully aroused, the " table crumbs attract 

 his slender feet." 



He builds his nest about March, he and his mate; 

 choosing the hollow of a bank for its resting-place, or 

 under hedge or bush, or a small tuft of herbage. His 

 food, at this time and during the summer, consists in the 

 main of worms, larvse, and insects. A sweet little song 

 he sings at all times ; not very full or powerful, but simple 

 and agreeably varied. His domesticity has always ren- 

 dered him very dear to man, and he is protected by a 

 score or so of legends and traditions which invest him with 

 a kind of sanctity ; so that he is as safe from the adven' 

 turous truant as from the eager sportsman. 



The Wagtails may be passed over with the remark that 

 they love the neighbourhood of streams and water-courses, 

 and are characterized by a peculiar habit of vibrating the 

 body, and more particularly the tail. Their flight is rapid. 



