THE ROBIN. 207 
advances, then recedes, then bows and courtesies with all the 
suavity of a Frenchman, and peers inquiringly, stooping down low, 
placing its nimble little body in a thousand graceful positions, as 
it slowly, steadily and discreetly approaches its object of con- 
cern? 
. If I should venture to say that not a cherry would grow, fit to 
be eaten, were it not for the birds, the bare idea would be hooted 
as preposterous, yet such nevertheless is my belief. Were it pos- 
sible to remove all the birds out of the way, for one season at least, 
what a decided difference would our future orchards present! 
Where now are thrifty growths, beautiful leafage, and large crops 
of fair fruit, would be seen stinted, moss-grown limbs with sparse 
or meagre foliage, crops of dwarfed specimens, that have finished 
their growing, in a knotty, wormy, inferior state. The majority of 
all the large families of insects are bred in the earth, and go 
through various forms in different stages of existence and are de- 
voured by birds of every description, chief among which stands 
our friend, the robin. 
The robin sits eleven days. On the eleventh the young are out 
of the shell, and on the eighth their eyes are wide open and 
bodies covered with pin feathers. In eleven days more they leave 
the nest on an average, although when the nest be not crowded 
they remain two days longer. Upon close observation the plumage 
of the adult, robin is tame, but rich and mellow, with soft colorings. 
The top of the head is dappled in brown and black, with delicate 
markings and pencillings at the throat where it meets the cinnamon 
breast in the male. The female is lighter in color and has no rosy 
_ tinge to the neck feathers. There is but a slight difference in the 
size of the male and female, but the general shape and build of 
the birds is marked so perceptibly that a practised eye can readily 
distinguish between the two. In general appearance the female 
_is the larger bird, but the male is stronger, closer and altogether 
_ ‘More powerful in limb. The large bright eyes in both sexes are 
_ Set in a ring of white. As a songster, the robin does not rank 
: , yet there are some rare singers among the species. A 
2 singer has a long, slender body, a long neck, long tail, dark, rich | 
Pe mnage, soft like satin. He is a fine bred bird. All are not first 
Í singers, Nature does not appear to endow all with her rare 
gift. Where there is one that is a singer there are scores that are 
only mediocre. The robin’s note is peculiarly mellow and flute 
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