116



11 Bobs” and 11 Billy.”



room a few minutes before anyone noticed him, when he would sing a

few notes to attract attention, and would generally be found perched

on a candle.


The spring of 1912 I found his nest, but his wife was never

allowed to come for food, any titbits were carried to her. Unfor¬

tunately the whole family succumbed to a too liberal allowance of

mealworms. Bobs himself became ill, nearly losing all power in one

leg, as apparently mealworms cause a sort of fit. He was about all

last winter and gradually got well and strong again, until at last, this

spring, he brought his wife “Roberta” to the window, but she never

came inside the room. After much consultation their nest was made

in the conservatory close by. It was on a large palm pot hidden by

maiden-hair fern, and Roberta’s bright eyes peeping out of the foliage

made the prettiest picture.


It was amusing to see how Bobs kept all birds away from the

dining room window, especially another robin—“ Billy ” by name—

who had a nest on a Camellia tree in a greenhouse on the other side

of the dining room. He and his wife “Wilhaemena” would perch on

a small tree near, and Billy would swoop on any food that he

thought Bobs did not notice ; a battle royal usually followed, in

which Bobs was always victorious. One day I noticed Billy had a

tiny speck on his head, so I thought Bobs had pulled his feathers out,

but the speck grew larger until the whole head and neck grew abso¬

lutely bald. In spite of this, Billy reared tw T o families, and it was

comic to see the bald-headed father attending to the children, as two

days after the fledglings had left the first nest, Wilhamena began

laying again in the same nest, and Billy seemed to have sole charge

of the little ones. He disappeared about the beginning of June, and

has not been seen since, so whether he has died of a cold in the head

or sunstroke I do not know\


Bob’s family again met with disaster, as the eggs were sucked

by mice a few days before they should have hatched. Bobs also has

not been seen since, but I hope he is not dead. I feel I have lost a

friend and am still vainly hoping he may come back again when I

call him.



