The Robin at Arm's Length. 45 



called plaintively from the trees, and circled about the nesting bough again and again, 

 but always kept at a distance. Accordingly, after feeding the young, I decided to strike 

 tent and wait until next day. There was a heavy thunder storm in the afternoon, 

 but when I visited the nest towards evening I was pleased to find the young as lively as 

 ever, and the old birds on guard with their usual spirit and tenacity unimpaired. 



The next morning they stormed vigorously about the tent and the male even came 

 to the nest while I was standing near. After closing the tent I was under the cross-fire 

 of their wrath for seven or eight minutes, when the alarm calls suddenly ceased, and in 

 two minutes more the mother was on the nesting bough. The female actually came to 

 the nest or to the branch which held it eight times in succession, in the space of twelve 

 minutes, with insect ready but without delivering it. Matters did not altogether please 

 her yet, and with a shrill sect ! seet ! away she would go, but only to return a half min- 

 ute later. Finally she came boldly to the nest's brim, uttered a sound like cuck ! cuck ! 

 which means " Open wide ! " and produced a number of sturdy looking grasshoppers. 

 Two minutes later the mother came again, and after feeding the young, picked them all 

 over, spending a minute and a half in the duties of inspecting and cleaning. It was a hard 

 task to conquer these birds, but they had to submit to the inevitable, and I have no 

 doubt but a few days more would have brought them to the hand. 



The relative strength of the parental instinct was well illustrated by the behavior of 

 these Robins. The female was always the first at the nest, and came at forty minutes 

 after nine o'clock on the second day. The male though constantly skirmishing about with 

 bill loaded, was not on the branch with food until two hours and ten minutes later. Mean- 

 time the mother had been giving the young her constant attention. The cock, though at 

 the nest or on the bough several times, did not actually have the courage to feed his little 

 ones until long past noon. In the performance of this duty he was three hours and 

 four minutes behind his mate. 



When the male did come at last and deliver food, he gave the nest a good cleaning, 

 and flew off to a corn patch a hundred yards away. In thirteen minutes, during which 

 interval the female had brought grasshoppers twice, the male returned triumphantly with 

 a great cluster of writhing angleworms. After safely dispensing them, he went the rounds of 

 inspection, devoured the excreta, then stood for a full minute on the rim of his nest and 

 with crest erect called, wit ! wit ! wit ! as if to celebrate a victory and announce 

 his bravery to the world. Now and again the cock came to the nesting bough but without 

 food. He wished only to take a look and see that all was well. At one of these visits 

 he stood on silent guard for full ten minutes, then sped away calling loudly, wit ! wit ! 

 wit ! 



In the course of the same day a Robin, possibly a young bird, alighted on the 

 peak of the tent, surveyed the situation, and passed on. When eight days old, on 

 July 26th, the young began to present their spotted breasts over the walls of the nest 

 and to spread, stretch, and flap their wings, the quills of which now showed half an 

 inch of feather at the tips. At every visit of their elders the whole brood went wild 

 with excitement, but soon quieted down, and the intervals were spent in preening 

 their sprouting feathers, calling for more food, or dozing with heads hanging down 

 over the edge of the nest. 



The third day opened warm and clear, and towards noon became very hot. Mother 



