A Pair of Cousins Robin and Thrush 207 



hundred arrived in ten minutes. They kept coming con- 

 tinually from all directions until a quarter after six, when 

 most of the birds were back. The grove was alive with 

 them just before six o'clock. They kept up a continual 

 clatter, flying from tree to tree, as if talking with their 

 neighbors over the events of the day. In the centre of 

 the grove, the chirping and fluttering were so loud as 

 to shut off all sounds from the outside. 



Many of the robins came from a long distance, for 

 they flew high. Sometimes as I watched I saw them 

 drop out of the sky. They were often directly above the 

 grove before they seemed to see it. I saw the tiniest 

 speck in the blue, and it would grow rapidly larger until 

 the robin dropped into the grove. Sometimes I saw the 

 birds fly clear past the grove before they seemed to recog- 

 nize the place; then they would turn, fold their wings, 

 and drop headlong. One day, when it was very windy, 

 they flew low, just over the housetops. Many would 

 come in, beating their wings and going very slowly against 

 the wind, as if all tired out. 



For several evenings I tried to count the number of 

 robins that came into the grove. I estimated over six 

 thousand were sleeping there every night. 



I thought there would be a grand chorus in the morn- 

 ing when all these birds awoke, so I went over before 

 daybreak one morning. The robins awoke at the first 

 indication of dawn, and they began leaving the trees im- 

 mediately. There were no songs, only a few robin calls 

 as the birds departed in singles and in small flocks, as they 

 had come the evening before. And by five-thirty the grove 

 was vacant again. 



