jS The Robin 



During the breeding season robins nest about the 

 garden and house, sometimes even on the vines grow- 

 ing over the veranda. Th favorite place of nesting 

 seems to be about old and neglected orchards, but 

 never have I found a nest in the deep woods. The 

 robin when not molested has little fear of man, and 

 the building of the nest and rearing of the young 

 can be very carefully observed by any one. For 

 this reason this is one of the best of birds for the 

 young ornithologist to begin to observe. 



A few years ago I interested one of my young boy 

 friends, who for two years past had been inclined to 

 rob birds' nests, by making with him a careful and 

 systematic study of the robin. 



On April twelfth a pair of these birds was dis- 

 covered building a nest in a lilac bush close to the 

 house, and but a few feet from the dining room window. 

 The nest had scarcely been begun when discovered, and 

 I determined, for the sake of my young friend, to culti- 

 vate friendly relations between ourselves and the robins. 



The female was a half albino, the wings being 

 partly white, and she had a few white feathers on her 

 breast. The male was so much like other robins 

 that, only as he grew tame, could we distinguish him. 

 As it has been found that most animals are 

 made more approachable by satisfying the appe- 



