26 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 



Bobbie of Park Ridge 



While spading my garden in the Spring of 1919 I first noticed him 

 following at a distance and picking great beakfuls of worms, then flying 

 off to the next street and returning almost immediately to repeat the action. 

 I began to encourage him by tossing worms toward him. At first he did 

 not understand but gradually became bolder and always got them. He 

 finally became so tame that he would pick his food not only close to me 

 but would often follow my spading fork so close that I had to be careful 

 for fear of hurting him; and when digging a hole for the burial of table 

 refuse, he has actually hopped right into the hole, from the sides of which 

 he would pull great worms that 1 had failed to see and secure for him. 



My good wife enjoyed this friendly bird as much as I and suggested 

 jokingly that he should bring his youngsters to our yard where we have 

 trees, and he would not have to travel back and forth so much. Almost 

 as though he had heard and understood, he followed the suggestion next 

 day, for while I was digging, my wife discovered a young robin fluttering 

 in the crotch of one of our trees and climbing on a lawn bench she re- 

 leased the little fellow to a more comfortable position and a few moments 

 later "Bobbie" went to the little one with a mouth full of worms and fed 

 it before our eyes. We later discovered that there was a pair of them 

 which we immediately named Peter and Paul. 



Bobby by this time held undisputed possession of our yard. He was 

 a splendid provider for his brood and usually at the expense of the "sweat 

 of my brow," not his. He fed those two youngsters until they were both 

 larger than he, and they finally became so independent from their ability 

 to care for themselves that I actually saw one of them refuse to accept food 

 from him. Soon after this he did not appear so often and I thought he 

 was deserting us, but one evening when I thought I was thru for the day 

 I sat on the lawn bench under the trees with my wife, suddenly almost at 

 our feet Mr. Bobbie lit on the lawn and looking up at us warbled a few 

 low notes. Feeling that he wanted something I took my spading fork 

 from the side of the house and started for the back of the garden — I 

 guessed right, he was there before I was and I succeeded before dark in 

 getting him several good meals which he carried away as of old and re- 

 turned for more. We then decided that he had another brood and 

 wondered if he would bring his new offspring to us. We were not disap- 

 pointed, for some days later we found in the yard a new baby so small he 

 could not fly a bit and we wondered how the old bird got him there. We 

 called him Buddie and he soon grew. big enough to fly around with Peter 

 and Paul. They were with us most of the Summer. Peter and Paul used 

 to fly around the neighborhood to feed but Buddie stuck to our yard until 

 late in the Fall — long after the first frosts and all other robins had dis- 

 appeared, and we feared he would not migrate with the others. Latterly, 

 however, we occasionally saw old Bobbie in the yard with him and have 

 always thought that he finally persuaded him to leave. We knew old 

 Bobbie because he had worked his tail off taking care of the little ones 

 and he had not succeeded in growing a new one up to the time he disap- 

 peared for the winter, but I hope not for good. 



E. A. Thomas. 



