TURDINE. 37 
THE REDBREAST. 
ER{THACUS RUBECULA (Linnzus). 
The Redbreast, familiarly known as the Robin, is probably the 
most characteristic of our British species ; for, in addition to the 
early and legendary associations which combine to render it a 
favourite, it is also a resident species, conspicuous from its bright 
plumage. Generally distributed throughout the British Islands, it 
has undoubtedly increased in the north with the spread of planta- 
tions, and it is now found breeding in some of the Hebrides and 
sparingly in the Orkneys, although as yet only a migrant in the Shet- 
lands. In autumn the young are, to some extent, driven away and 
forced to emigrate by their parents, who, in their turn, when pressed 
for food in winter, resort to the vicinity of our dwellings, where 
they are almost universally welcome. At this season numbers arrive 
from the Continent : shunning the cold of the northern regions where 
they have passed the summer, even within the Arctic circle. 
