THE REDBREAST. 



Erythacus rubecula (Linnaeus). 

 Plate 4. 



This familiar and best known of all our birds, with its confiding manners 

 and sweet song, hardly needs description. Although the Redbreast or Robin 

 haunts our gardens and homesteads all the year round, and appears to be 

 always with us, yet a migratory movement takes place in autumn, when 

 many birds, moving southwards, cross the Channel. Abroad the Redbreast has 

 a wide range over Europe and Asia. 



The nest, made of moss and withered leaves, with a lining of hair and feathers, 

 is placed in a hedgerow, bank, or within some cavity in a wall. The five to 

 seven eggs are white, marked and speckled with red ; occasionally without any 

 markings. 



As soon as the moult is completed, in early autumn, the Redbreast again 

 begins his song, which is continued through the winter. During September, 

 when the majority of birds are silent, this plaintive strain is very beautiful. 



The food of the Redbreast consists of insects and worms, varied with fruit 

 and berries. 



Though sometimes rather duller, the female does not otherwise differ from 

 the male in colour. The young in their first plumage are spotted with yellowish- 

 brown, and show no orange on the breast. 



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