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AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



UNUSUAL ROBIN SITES. 



Although nearly all birds will sometimes build their homes in strange 

 places, Robins seem to err most frequently in this respect. Perhaps it 

 is because they are more common and we notice the unusual nests 

 sooner than those of most other birds or perhaps the Robins them- 

 selves are not quite as keen witted as the majority of the song birds. 



The authenticity of the following location is vouched for by Mr. N. 

 A. Pool of Howell, Mich. "A nest of Robins in a milk wagon that is 

 used every day may seem a strange incident, but it is, nevertheless 

 true. Mr. Carpenter has a light wagon which is used every day to 

 bring milk. In the morning it is driven over a mile after the milk and 



Fig. I. 



YOUNG ROBINS. 



Photo by C. A. Reed. 



then returns and stands under the shade of a tree the rest of the time. 

 A Robin built her nest on the reach just forward of the rear wheels of 

 the wagon, and under the box. In this she has laid and hatched her 

 eggs. When the wagon is away the parent birds chirp in the trees and 

 when it returns they attend to their affairs as though no interruption 

 had ever occurred. It is indeed curious that they should persist in 

 building the nest when they found that the wagon was in daily use." 



Another Robin chose her nesting site where it was immovable but 

 for other reasons would appear to be fully as undesirable as one that 

 took a ride off every morning. This was on one of the girders of an 

 oil cloth factory. The Robin found an entrance through a broken win- 



