UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 
among the seeds. She did so, and it was not long 
before the thrush began to examine them and taste 
them doubtingly, but very soon he was eating them. 
That afternoon his drooping wings were getting 
back to their normal place, and in a day or two he 
was a changed bird, brisk and bold, domineering 
over the other birds, — in a very courteous way, 
however, — and very much set up in life. 
A bird never appears emaciated; it will starve and 
retain its plump appearance. Robins will famish 
amid a world of seeds and grains. They must have 
fruit or worms. Three years ago, while spending the 
winter in Georgia, I had evidence that a vast num- 
ber of robins starved to death in March. People 
picked them up in their yards and in the fields and 
along the edge of the woods. They seem to have 
started north from Florida and the Gulf States too 
soon. A sudden cold snap kept the worms and in- 
sects below the surface of the ground, and there was 
no fruit but the white, dry china-berries, and these 
appear to poison or to paralyze the robins when they 
eat them. In my walk one morning I picked up a 
cock robin that was unable to fly. As it did not 
appear to have been injured in any way, and was 
of very light weight, I concluded it was starving. 
I took it into the house and let it perch on the back 
of a chair in the study. It showed little signs of fear 
and made no effort to escape. I dug a handful of 
earthworms, and dangled one of them before its 
94 
