50 



Wild Bird 



s. 



it is often abandoned and a new one built for the second brood, but whether a new nest 

 shall be built or not depends rather upon habit or caprice than actual need. The old 

 nest is sometimes repaired, or even occupied without change during the same season. 

 On the other hand, three nests are sometimes built in line and under cover, where a sin- 

 gle one if put in good repair would have answered the purpose. I once saw a Robin's 

 nest fixed to the end of a stick of wood that leaned against the side of a barn, and the 

 stone-gra)- color of the background formed an excellent screen for its concealment. 



Many wild birds, 

 such as Robins, Orioles, 

 Wrens, Woodpeckers, to 

 mention only a few 

 species, breed within the 

 confines of cities, and 

 the question naturally 

 arises, — do the birds 

 come to town, or does 

 the town go to them ? 

 We know how strong is 

 the instinct for j'oung 

 birds to return to the 

 place of their birth, if 

 not to the selfsame spot, 

 at least to the same 

 neighborhood, and they 

 continue to do this until 

 driven off by enemies or 

 by hard times. My 

 house in Cleveland hap- 

 pens to be placed in the 

 midst of what was an 

 apple orchard of a large 

 farm a generation ag-o, 

 and a few of its ancient 

 trees still remain in the 

 back yard. Are the Robins which nest in them to-day the descendants of the birds 

 which used to come to the old farm? Possibly, for the birds will return, so long as the 

 human inhabitants and the food which their presence insures remain. In this way man)- 

 birds have undoubtedl}' grown into city life. As the farm became a part of the village 

 and the village was swallowed by the town, the migratory species, true to their old asso- 

 ciations, returned to their former haunts each spring. I have known two illustrations of 

 this in Cleveland, where Red-headed Woodpeckers clung to the ancestral tree until 

 enveloped by miles of city streets, and indeed until their old home was actualh' 

 destroyed. 



On the other hand it is true that many shy and timid birds often leave their seclusion 

 and come to the haunts of man, and this is not remarkable when we remember how much 



Fig. 34. Head of female Robin — life size. X 2^-. 



