75



building the nest vary very much, sometimes in a bush, sometimes on

the ground, occasionally in the crevice of a wall; but always carefully

concealed, and this is curious to note in a bird which displays so little

mistrust in mankind as does our red-breasted friend, a farther description

of whom I feel it quite unnecessary to write; because that is a matter in

which we are all fairly well posted, almost before we leave the nursery.


His radical instindls do not stop at the selection of a site for his

domestic operations. The materials chosen for making the nest varying

slightly in different districts, and even the eggs are said to vary in color and

markings ; they number five or six, and as a rule may be described as pale

reddish-white, faintly splashed with darker red, chiefly at the larger end ;

but cases are on record where Robin’s eggs have been found entirely white.


The Robin is an early builder, and young birds have often been found

in the nest at the end of March.


When at liberty the diet of the Robin is mainly insectivorous,

consisting largely of earwigs, flies, beetles and worms. It is said to be a

prodigious eater; one writer going so far as to state that it will devour nine

times its own weight in earth-worms per diem ! However that may be, it is

very certain that the Robin does not subsist entirely on earth-worms,

but takes toll of the smaller fruit-bushes in their season ; and its wages

should not be begrudged, for considering the countless thousands of

destructive insedts a pair of Robins will devour, they are indeed well

earned.


The pugnacity of the Robin is almost proverbial, and the aviarist

should not attempt to keep two males in the same aviary, for sooner or

later one of them would decide that life was not worth living; and in an

aviary where some of the smaller warblers are kept, one will sometimes make

himself much too officious at feeding time and will secure for himself an unfair

share of the mealworms or other dainties supplied ; a proceeding to which

there is necessarily a deal of objection.


It is as a cage bird that our sprightly little friend excels; for there,

with proper care and attention, he will cheer us with his merrv song the

greater part of the year, and certainly in the winter when the others are

silent. He is not at all difficult to cater for : ants’ eggs of course should

form the staple food, and grocer’s currants, soaked or scalded, are much

appreciated; and of mealworms he never seems to have enough, although I

consider ten a day ample. I can also say from experience that he will

partake of any of the soft foods that may be going, even to crushed hemp

seed ; but if there are ants’ eggs in the food they are carefully picked out

first.



In the management of freslilv-caught Robins, I would warn my

readers against keeping them too warm, especially if taken during the

colder months of the year, or they will surely go into moult; at least, such

is my experience. I recommend that each one be caged separately in a box

cage with food and water inside, (for a newly-caught Robin will not, as a

rule, put his head through a water hole, even to take a live mealworm) and

the cages hung in the hall or, preferably, in an outhouse ; care being taken

of course that they are protected from draughts.


Robins make charming pets, they soon become delightfully tame and

will take food from the hand within a few days of being caught. They vary

somewhat in their song qualities, some singing with tremendous gusto,

others contenting themselves with a gentle little trill which is perhaps

quite as acceptable, especially indoors. Of their confiding little ways much

might be written that is scarcely within the province of The Avicultural

Magazine ; while the keen interest Bobby appears to take in all that goes on

around him, entitles him to a high place in the scale of ornithological

intellect.



