Notes from Field and Study 



119 



Mr. Ash's pets have received consider- 

 able attention from naturalists, and biog- 

 raphies of some of them have frequently 

 appeared in the local press ; but none 

 other has been so much talked of and 

 written about as the Newport Robin — a 

 thoroughbred patrician bird from Belle, 

 vue avenue. This male Robin was 

 taken from the nest when scarcely feath- 

 ered and placed in a cage which hung in 

 the office of the market, and there he 

 learned, from the musically inclined cus- 

 tomers and from his master, such airs as 

 'Yankee Doodle,' 'Sweet By-and-By,' 

 'Marching Through Georgia,' 'Over The 

 Garden Wall,' 'Johnnie, Get Your Gun,' 

 'Here She Goes -There She Goes,' and 

 many others, one of his acquirements 

 being the campaign air: 'What's the 

 matter with Harrison; He's all Right,' 

 and all rendered in perfect tune and with 

 a sweetness surpassing the finest flute or 

 piccolo. 



At first Mr. Ash thought of his little 

 prisoner simply as a companion during 

 the extreme early hours at which the 

 market had to be opened, and was sur- 

 prised one day at hearing him whistling 

 one of his own favorite airs. But after 

 that he took a little more pains and 

 spent his leisure moments in teaching 

 the Robin different tunes, and, finding 

 him an apt scholar, encouraged customers 

 to whistle in his presence until he be- 

 came the wonder of all who have ever 

 heard him whistle He never gave the 

 chirping whistle peculiar to the Robin, 

 but continually repeated notes gathered 

 from his admiring friends. He developed 

 an aptness for mimicry quite equal to 

 the best-bred Mockingbird, and a talent 

 for sweet music which quite surpassed 

 that of the latter. 



The home of this feathered wonder 

 was a large, handsome wire cage, pre- 

 sented him by his honor. Mayor Powtl. 

 The Robin preferred this cage to free- 

 dom, and seemed to love the society of 

 man and to be perfectly contented. In 

 In fact, he made his escape once and 

 returned of his own free will after an 

 absence of about an hour. Another 



time he left his cage and wandered from 

 tho market and was picked up, com- 

 pletely exhausted, by a Judge of the 

 probate court, who took him back. Once 

 he paid a visit to a favorite officer at 

 the police station. But emboufoitit de- 

 veloped during the latter years of the 

 decadeof his life, and rendered him so liable 

 to accidents abroad that he was never 

 allowed to leave the narrow confines of 

 his home He received about the same 

 treatment and food as a Mockingbird, 

 but rejected all opportunities to bathe 

 oftener than every other day and then 

 insisted upon having his tub of fresh 

 water. 



This bird was the pride of his owner, 

 who refused tempting pecuniary induce- 

 ments to part with him ; but all visitors 

 to the Robin's cage were cordially wel- 

 comed by Mr. Ash, who delighted in hav- 

 ing his pet seen and heard, that all 

 might comprehend his really wonderful 

 talent. — E. A. Mearns, Ft. Adams, A^en'- 

 fort, K. I. 



A Yonkers Robin 



Two years ago this summer, at Yonkers, 

 N. Y. , the ice-man carried into a kitchen 

 an unfledged Robin picked up in the street. 

 Kind-hearted Bridget fed and cared for the 

 foundling, after trying in vain to restore it 

 to the nest. It was placed in a large cage 

 until old enough to enjoy the freedom of 

 the house. Once a female Robin flew to 

 the window-sill with a worm ; and when- 

 ever the cage was put out-of-doors Robins 

 visited it and talked to the little one One 

 day five of its relatives lighted on the cage, 

 as if meditating a coup d' clat. 



The bird would have been released in 

 due time, but for a catastrophe. One luck- 

 less night, the cage having been left out, a 

 'self-supporting cat' clawed poor Robin, 

 wounding him desperately, and perma- 

 nently injuring one wing. His life was 

 saved, but the wound never healed, and 

 whenever the bird is excited, drops of blood 

 exude. 



Robin calls for his oatmeal each morn- 

 ing, and will not be quiet until fed from 

 the spoon of the master of the house. He 



