A Much-used Robin's Nest 



By A. U. UuBOIS, Cliicaeo, 111. 



I 



N the l;ill (»l i()0() we moved iiilo an 

 old I'ranic house and I eslahlislied 

 my 'den' on llie second lloor. The 

 i'(»om had 1 wo windows. Near one of 

 Ihem, at ihe corner ol I he buildinj^, was 

 a, down-spouL lor (oiuhic I in;jj ra.in-waler 

 from the roof. At Ihe offset in this 

 conductor pific, saddled securely on ihe 

 elbow against the house, was an old 

 Robin's nest, well sheltered from rain 

 by the projecting eaves. 



The following spring, on A|)ril 24, 

 we watched a Robin gadiering malerial 

 for repairs, and ihe next day saw her 

 silling on this nest under ihe eaves. On 

 Ihe 20(1), at 7 A.M., an ('xamination, by 

 means of a mirror, disclosed one egg in 

 the nest. The second egg was deposited 

 during the same morning, the third dur- 

 ing the latter part of the morm'ng of tlie 

 27th, and the fourth on the morning of the 

 28th. During the intervals of laying, the 

 bird spent a part of her time on the nest 

 but was frec{uently observed in the horse- 

 chestnut tree just opposite the window. 

 On the afternoon of May 15 there were four young Robins in this nest, 

 and the female was bringing them worms. By the 23d the young were large 

 and well feathered and their father was in full fighting trim. When I went to 

 the open window to look out at the nest, he dashed at my head, striking me a 

 sharp blow on the forehead. 



The young left the nest on May 24, twenty-six days after the last egg was 

 deposited, and were at once able to fly. It was the last that we expected to see 

 of the Robin family, and we left them to feed in the garden or on the lawn. 

 The next spring, under date of April 15, our journal relates that a Robin 

 flew up and sat on the nest under the eav-es. Again, on the 21st, the bird was 

 seen to fly to the nest and, the next morning, while sitting at my desk, I saw 

 a Robin gather mud, across the street, and fly with it to the eaves nest. At 

 8 A.M. on the 24th she was sitting on the nest, and when she left, at 8.30, l:he 

 nest contained one egg. The fourth and last egg of this set was deposited 



THE MUCH-USED NEST A ,1 

 HUNGRY OCCUPAN'JS 



during the morning of the 26th. 



dsO 



