A Catalogue of Birds obtained in Navarro County, Texas. 173 



Merula migratoria (Linn.) American Robin. — This hand- 

 some thrush is an abundant winter visitor, arriving in small 

 flocks about the beginning of November, and at this time fre- 

 quenting almost entirely the thickly timbered banks of the 

 Trinity river and its tributary creeks, the immediate vicinity of 

 water being necessary to its comfort, for no matter what the 

 temperature may be, they invariably bathe themselves every day 

 after their morning meal, and so regular are they in their habits, 

 that the same pool is visited day after day for this purpose, at 

 precisely the same hour, a fact, the knowledge of which saved me 

 much trouble when I was in want of specimens. I have fre- 

 quently been amused and interested in watching them perform 

 their ablutions. The whole flock, numbering perhaps as many as 

 fifty individuals, often enter the water together, and, splashing 

 with their wings so as to turn the entire surface of the pool into 

 foam, chattering incessantly meanwhile, playfully chase one 

 another here and there with every sign of the keenest enjoyment, 

 and, finally coming out thoroughly wet, they fly up to the sun- 

 niest perch procurable, there to dry and preen their feathers pre- 

 vious to retiring for a midday siesta among the upper branches 

 of the adjacent trees, where they sit so motionless and closely hid 

 that it is difl&cult to detect a single bird, though every tree in the 

 neighbourhood may hold several. On their first arrival, when 

 berries are plentiful, the robins feed entirely upon them, those of 

 the cedar, mistletoe, the various kinds of grape-vine, and the 

 green brier being most sought after, and it is rare then to see 

 them searching upon the ground for food, but as the season, 

 advances and the supply of berries becomes exhausted, they 

 begin to resort to the low-lying parts of the prairie, where the 

 surface of the ground having become soft after the winter rains, 

 they find abundance of worms and snails with which to supple- 

 ment their vegetable diet, but at no time do they venture to any 

 great distance from the treesj to which, upon any alarm, they 

 immediately retire. The females arrive about a fortnight before 

 the males, but the small flocks in which they perform their 

 autumn migration subsequently coalesce, so that both sexes may 

 be found feeding together ; nor did I observe any such separation 

 on their departure, which takes place during the latter half of 

 March, after which month none were seen at their usual feeding 



