/^ Bird Life Stories 



strate, pass and repass by rapid divings, or if moving along the 

 branches, jerk their wings and tails violently and emit a 

 peculiar shrill note, evincing their anxiety and displeasure. 

 The young, before they are fully fledged, often leave their nest 

 to meet their parents, when coming home with a supply of 

 food. 



Many of these birds show a marked partiality to the places 

 they have chosen to breed in. I have no doubt that many who 

 escape death in the winter return to those loved spots each 

 succeeding spring. 



The flight of the Robin is swift, at times greatly elevated 

 and capable of being long sustained. During the periods of 

 its migrations, which are irregular, depending upon the want 

 of food or the severity of the weather, it moves in loose flocks 

 over a space of several hundred miles at once, and at a consid- 

 erable height. From time to time a few shrill notes are heard 

 from different individuals in the flock. Should the weather 

 be calm their movements are continued during the night, and 

 at such periods the whistling noise of their wings, is often 

 heard. During heavy falls of snow and severe gales they 

 pitch toward the earth, or throw themselves into the woods, 

 where they remain until the weather becomes more favor- 

 able. 



They not infrequently disappear for several days from a 

 place where they have been in thousands, and again they visit 

 it. In eastern Massachusetts flocks often spend the winter in 

 the neighborhood of warm springs and spongy low grounds, 

 sheltered from the north winds. 



Geographical Distribution 



Our American Robin has a wide range. It is found throughout 

 eastern North America and extends as far west as the Rocky Moun- 



