88 BIRD-LAND ECHOES. 



We are always glad to hear the robins, but never for 

 the same reason that we listen to a wood-thrush. 

 Of course there are exceptions. The world is full 

 of them. Occasionally a robin has an inspiration 

 and sings like the musical thrushes to which it is re- 

 lated, but this seldom occurs. We accept its ordi- 

 nary efforts because they are heard first when there is 

 comparatively little bird-music, and also for the reason 

 that every note is one of cheerfulness. If ever a bird 

 proclaims " Begone, dull care !" it is the robin. 



There is an inexhaustible fund of amusement and 

 instruction in watching a pair of nesting robins ; not 

 so much because at such times they are different from 

 other birds, but by reason of their endless chatter- 

 ing and general earnestness, indicative of their re- 

 markable vocabulary. All birds talk and some both 

 talk and sing, as any careful observer well knows ; 

 but, except in the case of the crows, this wide range 

 of utterances is not so easily recognized among birds 

 generally as it is among the robins. It is something 

 very different from the familiar alarm-cry, the 

 soothing of the nestlings, or the gentle chirp of mate 

 to mate ; and, as with ourselves, a difference of 

 opinion among them is the parent of volubility. An 

 angry robin can scold, an importunate one can coax, 

 a victorious one can exult ; and, while it is all robin 

 language, nobody will be bold enough to assert that 

 it is the same single sound or note differently ex- 

 pressed. It is really a wide range of expression, 

 always the same under similar circumstances ; but 

 never is the ejaculation of ill temper uttered when 



