THE AMERICAN ROBIN. 



{Merula migratoria.) 



His is , te sweetest note in all our woods. 

 The whistle of the meadow-lark is sweet, 

 The blackbird's rapid chant fills all the vale, 

 And touchingly sweet the unincumbered song 

 That the thrush warbles in the green-wood shade; 

 Yet is the Robin still our sweetest bird. 

 And beautiful as sweet. His ruddy breast 

 When poised on high, struck by the unrisen sun. 

 Glows from its altitude, and to the sight 

 Presents a burning vestiture of gold; 

 And his dark pinions, softly spread, improved 

 By contrast, shame the blackbird's jetty plumes. 



— William Thompson Bacon, 



'The Robin. 



There is no doubt that this bird like 

 its tiny cousin, the red-breast of Europe, 

 holds first place in the hearts of the lov- 

 ers of our feathered friends. The Robin 

 is a typical American and seems always 

 to enjoy the vicinity of its human ad- 

 mirers. In the spring there are no more 

 welcome sounds than its "cheerily, cheer 

 up, cheer up, cheerily, cheerily, cheer 

 up," as it sings from the top of some tree 

 in our dooryard. This interpretation 

 of its song by Mr. Nehrling seems a 

 most happy one, for both the song and 

 the presence of this home-like bird 

 seems to suggest the thought, "cheer 

 up," for Nature's most beautiful season 

 is near at hand. The Robins are al- 

 ways welcome and sometimes they 

 cheer us with their presence even in 

 the early winter months. If there is 

 plenty of food, moderately cold weather 

 will not drive them away. Not only is 

 the sound of its song delightful, but 

 that of its loud and clear call, ' durick, 

 tuck, tuck, tuck," is most pleasing. 



Many people may enjoy the society of 

 the Robin, for it has a wide range, ex- 

 tending over North America, east of 

 the Rocky Mountains, and includes 

 Eastern Mexico and Alaska. The Robins 

 breed from Virginia and Kansas north- 

 ward to the Arctic coast, and they may 

 winter in Southern Canada and the 

 Northern States when the season is not 

 too severe, and always in the southern 

 portion of their geographical range. In 

 the inhabitable portions of this vast 



area almost every child knows the 

 Robins, and grown people also become 

 attached to them. 



The English Robin, or the true red- 

 breast, which has been the theme of 

 song and story for centuries, is undoubt- 

 edly the bird from which the American 

 species derived its name. Both have a 

 red breast and some similar habits. As 

 these two birds are so closely associated 

 in our minds the following account of 

 Thomas Pennant, a naturalist, who pub- 

 lished a work on British zoology in the 

 year 1776, will be of interest. In his 

 remarks regarding the English robin, 

 Mr. Pennant says: "This bird, though 

 so very petulant as to be at constant 

 war with its own tribe, yet is remark- 

 ably sociable with mankind ; in it winter 

 frequently makes one of the family; and 

 takes refuge from the inclemency of the 

 season even by our fire sides. Thomson 

 (in his 'Seasons') has prettily described 

 the annual visits of this guest: 

 The red-breast, sacred to the household 



gods, 

 Wisely regardful of th* embroiling sky. 

 In joyless fields, and thorny thickets, leaves 

 His shivering mates, and pays to trusted 



Man 

 His annual visit. Half afraid, he first 

 Against the window beats; then, brisk, 



alights 

 On the warm hearth; then, hopping, o'er the 



floor, 

 Eyes all the smiling family askance. 

 And pecks, and starts, and wonders where 



he is: 

 'Till more familiar grown, the table-crumbs, 

 Attract his slender feet. 



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