THE BLUE- THROATS. 279 



parts of the village gardens before they finally take flight across 

 the Channel. 



The Robin is a general favourite, not only on account of its 

 trustful disposition and tameness, but also on account of its 

 song, which is heard at all times of the year excepting during 

 the moulting season, and is always welcome in winter, when the 

 voices of most birds are silent. The call-note of the Robin is 

 clear and musical, but the cry of distress, as when a cat comes 

 near the nest, is a long drawn shrill note one of the most 

 disagreeable and ear-splitting notes imaginable. 



Nest. All kinds of situations are chosen for the home of the 

 Robin, and the nest may be found in the hole of a wall or a 

 tree, whilst an old can or kettle, discarded by the housewife 

 and thrown away amongst the rubbish of the garden, is often 

 utilised. Very often the nest is placed amongst ivy or on the 

 ground, particularly in a moss-covered bank, where the herbage 

 conceals it. The foundation of the nest consists of dead 

 leaves and moss, but it is neatly lined with rootlets and hair. 



Eggs. From five to eight in number. Ground-colour buffy- 

 white or china-white. They vary a good deal in the tint 

 of colour and markings, some being nearly spotless, while 

 others are thickly clouded with rufous markings, collecting at 

 the larger end. In some specimens the whole egg is thickly 

 sprinkled with reddish spots, while in others the blotches 

 are larger and sparsely distributed. Axis, o'S-o'g; diam., 

 0*55-0 -65. Mr. Robert Read gives it as his experience that 

 eggs from the North of England and Scotland are more heavily 

 marked than those from the south. He has sets of white and 

 pale blue eggs in his collection. (Plate xxix., fig. 3.) 



THE BLUE-THROATS. GENUS CYANECULA. 



Cyanecula, C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1280. 



Type, C. suerica (Linn.). 



These pretty birds have been placed along with the Robins 

 in modern classifications, and there can be no doubt that they 

 are closely allied to those birds, but they form a natural genus, 

 remarkable for their style of coloration. They differ from the 

 Robins in having the rictal bristles scarcely perceptible, and in 



