248 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



twenty and thirty used to wait for the sugary fare to be 

 served to them. 



I have said that the Robin is sociable with human 

 beings, but not with his own clan, strangely enough. 

 Indeed, it must roundly be confessed, even by those who 

 love him, that he is a very quarrelsome, resentful little 

 fellow. 



He fights with his rivals. He fights even with his 

 children when they are grown ujd. The same place cannot 

 contain them both. " A fight between Robins," says Mr. 

 John Lea, "has been known to last a whole day, one of 

 the birds eventually being killed." Richard JefFeries, in 

 one of his outdoor essays, declares that most of these 

 fights take place in the early morning — like the duels 

 which were fought by gentlemen a hundred years ago. 



Thompson, the author of JVotes of a Naturalist, was an 

 eye-witness of a battle royal between two Robins, which 

 took place a.t Margate in one of the busiest parts of the 

 town (it was many years ago, when Margate was a much 

 smaller place than it is now). The two combatants were in 

 such a blind rage with each other, that they paid no 

 attention to the passers-by whom they brushed against. 

 Now rising into the air, now sinking into the roadway, 

 they moved further and further seaward till they finally 

 fell into the harbour, whence they were rescued still 

 fiercely clutching each other. 



The song of the Robin is not very loud and strong, but 

 it is very sweet, and it is one of the few bird-songs that in 

 this country we may hear pretty well all the year round. 



