674 The Sparrow-like Birds 



measure its shyness and seclusion, and now comes freely and fearlessly about 

 habitations, taking up its abode in orchards, gardens, and lawns, but it may 

 also be found everywhere, in meadow and marsh, on hills and in valleys, and even 

 high up in the mountains. It is one of the first to return from its winter home, 

 often arriving in the north long before the snow and ice have disappeared, and 

 with its bursts of wild, exultant music enlivens the otherwise dreary landscape 

 and proclaims the advent of spring. Although it has lost or laid aside much of 

 its original shyness, it still retains its former sagacity and vigilance, and we may 

 see it running rapidly over the lawn for a few yards, with nervously dropping 

 wings and vibrating tail, then stopping suddenly and standing erect and motion- 

 less for a few moments on the outlook for possible danger. The vocabulary of 

 the Robin is extensive and varied, notes of interrogation, suspicion, alarm, and 

 anger being apparently clearly discernible; while its song, which is usually 

 uttered from some commanding position, such as a lofty tree-top, is given with 

 such earnestness and persistence as to compensate for its alleged lack of sweet- 

 ness and variety. The song is thought by many to resemble closely that of the 

 European Blackbird, but it is apparently briefer and more monotonous. The 

 Robin builds a large, poorly concealed nest of grasses, leaves, rootlets, etc., 

 within which is a substantial lining wall of mud, which is itself lined with soft 

 grasses. The nest, which is rarely more than ten or twelve feet from the ground, 

 is usually placed in a fruit or shade tree, on a fence rail or stump, or occasionally 

 in a porch or outbuilding; the four or five eggs are greenish blue and usually 

 unmarked. They usually rear two, and in the southern part of their range 

 sometimes three, broods in a season. A curious and interesting chapter in 

 their life history was, apparently first brought to scientific attention by Mr. 

 William Brewster, some fifteen years ago. In the latter part of June, after the 

 first broods are able to fly well, they are led nightly by the old males to some 

 chosen roosting place, where they congregate either for companionship or 

 mutual protection, in numbers that range from a hundred or two to very many 

 thousands. These "roosts" are usually located in swampy areas, where there 

 is a dense growth of thick-foliaged young trees, and each roost draws all the 

 Robins from the surrounding country, often several square miles in area. They 

 come trooping in from all directions about dusk and leave at the earliest break 

 of dawn, the young to forage about the country and the old males to assist in 

 caring for the second brood. When these are reared they, together with the old 

 females, resort to the roost, which may then assume stupendous proportions. 

 From this time until their departure in the fall they are found in flocks, often of 

 large size, and in their winter home they are found together. 



The food of the Robin is extremely varied, though always largely insectivo- 

 rous. During their southern sojourn they feed particularly on berries of the 

 holly, sparkle berry, etc., but after their return to the summer home they subsist, 

 at first almost entirely on worms and insects of various kinds, and are then 

 extremely valuable in reducing the numbers of these pests. But for this benefit 

 to the agriculturist they levy tribute on the various small fruits, especially 

 cherries, raspberries, and strawberries, and at times do considerable damage. 



