24 BIRDS 



Long after their associates have gone southward, they 

 linger like the last leaves on the tree. It is indeed "good- 

 bye to summer" when the bluebirds withdraw their touch 

 of brightness from the dreary November landscape at the 

 north to whirl through Southern woods and feed on the 

 waxy berries of the mistletoe. 



The Robin 



Length — 10 inches. 



Male — Dull brownish olive-gray above. Head black; tail 

 brownish black, with exterior feathers white at inner 

 tip. Wings dark brownish. Throat streaked with 

 black and white. White eyelids. Entire breast bright 

 rusty red; whitish below the tail. 



Female — DuUer and with paler breast, resembling the male 

 in autumn. 



Range — ^North America, from Mexico to arctic regions. 



Migrations — ^March. October or November. Often resi- 

 dent throughout the year. 

 {See frontispiece.) 



The early English colonists, who had doubtless been 

 brought up, like the rest of us, on "The Babes in the 

 Wood," named the bird after the only heroes in that 

 melancholy tale; but in reality the American robin is a 

 much larger bird than the little European robin-red- 

 breast and less brilliantly colored. John Burroughs calls 

 him, of all our birds, "the most native and democratic." 



How the robin dominates birddom with his strong, ag- 

 gressive personality ! His voice rings out strong and clear 

 in the early morning chorus, and, more tenderly subdued 



