162 ORNITHOLOGY AND OOLOGY. 



"Early in May," he says, "my son caught and caged three 

 young Robins, and I encouraged him in the act, that I might be 

 enabled to study their habits of feeding. He commenced by feed- 

 ing them with angle-worms and soaked bread, giving them the latter 

 very sparingly. They soon died, evidently from an excess of the 

 farinaceous part of their diet. He then took three others from 

 different nests, and fed them more exclusively on worms, and some 

 fruit. Two of these also soon died, and the remaining one ap- 

 peared ill and drooping. I suggested that the bird probably needed 

 insects as well as worms, which alone were not sufficient to supply 

 all the wants of the system ; though he had access to cherries and 

 soaked bread, of which he could eat whenever he wanted them. 

 A'ter this, he was supplied with all sorts of grubs and insects which 

 my son was able to capture. The robin devoured these indiscrimi- 

 nately and with great eagerness. He was never known to refuse one 

 of any description. All kinds of beetles, moths, bugs, grubs, vine- 

 worms, chrysalids, and caterpillars, which were presented to him, 

 he devoured. After this improvement of his diet, the bird soon 

 recovered his health ; and the experiment proved conclusively that 

 this variety of insect food was necessary to the life of the bird, at 

 least while he was young. 



" These insects were not put into his mouth : they were placed 

 upon the floor of his cage, and he picked them up, hilling them in 

 a way that showed that he knew instinctively how to manage them. 



" He was particular in beating the vine-worm considerably before 

 he swallowed it ; but he never refused one, or neglected to eat it. 

 On one occasion, having swallowed a hard beetle, and finding it 

 incommodious, he threw it out of his crop by a voluntary effort, 

 beat it awhile with his bill against the floor, and then swallowed it 

 again. This fact also proved his instinctive knowledge of the mode 

 of proceeding in such emergencies. 



" It is a fact worthy of notice, that the Baltimore Oriole, or 

 Golden Robin, which has the reputation of performing more ser- 

 vice than the common Robin, may, when confined in a cage, be fed 

 almost entirely on farinaceous food, without injury to his health. 

 This fact is good evidence that the common Robin is more entirely 

 insectivorous than the other. The contrary is generally belk - ed. 

 The fondness of the Robin and others for fruit is not peculiar tc his 



