48 



Wild Birds. 



grass. At last two birds consented to remain for a few minutes, when the male came 

 with an angleworm and a large green katydid. He paused a moment while I photo- 

 graphed him, and this proved to be the closing scene. The curtain dropped suddenly 

 when first one bird and then the other left their home forever, not even waiting to get the 

 katydid. The old bird at once led his brood to the woods, and being able to take short 

 flights, they had no difficult}' in finding safe quarters. 



The number of times the young are fed in the course of the day depends upon their 

 age and the weather. The older they are the more food they require. At this nest the 

 labor of feeding and cleaning was shared about equally by both birds, but on hot daj's 

 the female was necessarily less active since there was much brooding to be done. 



The following table illustrates the relative activities of this pair in caring for their 

 young, the time of observation being approximately from nine o'clock until three in 

 the afternoon. 



I'ERIUI) i>F OhSERVATIdX. 



Seciind Day. 



Thiki) I 'AV. 



Kdl'rth Day. 



Age of young 



Fed by male 



Fed by female 



Brooded bv female . . 



Rate of feeding 



Period of observation 



8 days 

 15 times 

 18 times 



Once in 1 1-12 min. 



9.30 A.M. to 3.53 P.M. 



9 days 



24 times 



28 times 



6 times (44 min.) 



Once ill 7-8 min. 



9.05 .A.M. to 3.44 P.M. 



10 days 

 15 times 

 14 times 

 times (2 hours 41 min.) 



Once in 8-9 min. 

 9.1 1 A.M. to 1.58 P.M. 



The nature of the food, which depends much on the local supply or the condition of 

 the market, consisted mainly of grasshoppers and angle worms, to which we must add a few 

 insect larva;, beetles, locusts, and kat^'dids, while the list of fruits included blueberries — 

 most in favor — choke cherries, and raspberries. 



As to the sanitation of the nest, inspection, as we have seen, follows each feeding. 

 The nest was cleaned during the period given in the table every fifteen minutes, and 

 mostly by the female, who devoured a part of the e.xcreta at the nest and carried the rest 

 away. 



The Robin has been kno^vn to pass the winter in Nova Scotia, where it feeds on wild 

 drj' fruits, like dogwood berries, and at all intermediate points between its northern and 

 southern ranges, wherever the food supply is good. Thus in the cold vallej's of the 

 White Mountains, where there is snow during the greater part of the year, and where the 

 mercury sometimes freezes, flocks of Robins are said to spend the winter, feeding on 

 the wild berries which are cached above the snow. The winter birds are probably in most 

 cases migrants from farther north. 



The food of the Robin consists, as we have seen, of small animals, mainly insects and 

 worms, and of wild fruits in about equal quantity. It has been shown ' that cultivated 

 fruits are eaten only as a makeshift and mainly in the months of June and Jul}-. 



Spring Robins reach Cleveland, Ohio, on the last days of Februar)- or the first 

 of March, central New Hampshire the third week in March, and I have seen them in Bur- 



' i;y lieal who found f(.rty-t\V() [ler cent of animal niatlcr in tlirt-e luinilred and thirty stomachs of these birds. 



