PASSERES TURDID^. 211 



our lawns. It roosts at night with the blackbirds in consid- 

 erable numbers, or forms roosts of its own. 



The food of the Robin is varied according to the season 

 largely. Prof. F. E. L. Beal has made a careful study of 

 the food of this bird and it is worth while quoting exten- 

 sively from his report here. 



"An examination of 330 stomachs shows that over 42 per 

 cent, of its food is animal matter, principally insects, while 

 the remainder is made up largely of small fruits and ber- 

 ries. Over 19 per cent, consists of beetles, about one-third 

 of which are useful ground beetles, taken mostly in spring 

 and fall when other insects are scarce. Grasshoppers make 

 up about one-tenth of the whole food, but in August com- 

 prise over 30 per cent. Caterpillars comprise about 6 per 

 cent., while the rest of the animal food, about 7 per cent., is 

 made up of various insects, with a few spiders, snails and 

 angle worms. All the grasshoppers, caterpillars and bugs, 

 with a large proportion of the beetles, are injurious, and it 

 is safe to say that noxious insects comprise more than one- 

 third of the Robin's food. 



"Vegetable food forms nearly 58 per cent, of the stomach 

 contents, over 47 per cent, being wild fruits, and only a lit- 

 tle more than 4 per cent, being possibly cultivated varieties. 

 Cultivated fruits amounting to about 25 per cent, were found 

 in the stomachs in June and July, but only a trifle in Au- 

 gust. Wild fruit, on the contrary, is eaten in every month, 

 and comprises a staple food during half the year. 



"The depredations of the Robin seem to be confined to 

 the smaller and earlier fruits, and few, if any, complaints 

 have been made against it on the score of eating apples, 

 peaches, pears, grapes, or even late cherries." 



From this it appears that the Robin is one of our most 

 useful birds and should be rigidly protected. 



The Robin is one of the first birds to greet us in spring 

 and among the last to depart south. Dates of arrival for 

 Oberlin fall very nearly on the first of March. The last arc 

 seen about the middle of November. A few remain all win- 

 ter even on the lake shore. 



