The Audubon Societies 119 



we wished her good hunting. — Robert R. Paine (age 16 years), St. Loes 

 House, Amberley, England. 



[American boys and girls will be interested in this vivid word picture of early spring in 

 England. In England, however, as here, it is only those who dare the weather who get as 

 close to nature as Robert. — A. A. A.l 



AN ORPHAN ROBIN 



On the rain-pipes under the eaves of our home, a pair of Robins built their 

 nest where we had a good opportunity to watch them. Three eggs were laid 

 and hatched. The baby Robins were about twelve days old when the mother 

 bird disappeared. The father continued to feed them. Two days after the 

 mother failed to appear, one of the little ones fell out of the nest. We put the 

 baby bird back, and the father seemed greatly distressed. It fell out again. 

 The father did not feed it, and we were afraid it might be hurt in falling, so we 

 took it to our Audubon leader. She put it in a discarded nest. At night the 

 nest was kept in the house, and at daybreak the little thing would call for food. 

 He was fed worms and grubs, berries and bits of cherries and given water from 

 a baby spoon whenever he seemed hungry. During the day the nest was put 

 in a little basket and tied to a tree near the door. 



I kept the Robin over one Sunday and once when he was hungry my brother 

 referred to him as 'Petie,' and after that he went by that name. 



He was about nineteen days old when his tail was so long that he would no 

 longer stay in the nest. He was given every opportunity to be a wild bird. 

 An aluminum band was placed on his leg with 'Pete' engraved on it. He was 

 soon flying everywhere and learned to dig his own worms, pick up ants, and 

 take a bath. At first he came to the doorstep early in the morning and called 

 for food, and often during the day. We noticed that he slept a good deal. 

 He liked bread and milk, cooked peas, but best of all he liked cherries. As he 

 grew larger he came and begged for cherries, and he would alight on one's 

 shoulder and pick the cherries from a person's mouth. 



When he was first taught to pick up his own food it was funny to see him 

 open his mouth before the worm which was dug for him, and speak to it, as 

 if he expected the worm to crawl in his mouth. He must have liked red for he 

 would pick at anything red, even the disk on the camera. 



He was a full-sized bird when the band on his leg was made more secure 

 one evening. It was done very carefully, but he must have resented it, for 

 he never came back to us. Tetie' had been handled very little. That fact, 

 and having plenty of water with every meal, we think are partly the reasons 

 why we were successful in raising him. — Margaret Kay (age 13 years), 

 Milwaukee, Wis. 



