THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST. 



407 



Plumage. — Bill and eyes black; top 

 of head and back olive brown ; tail and 

 wings rather darker ; greater wing-coverts 

 tipped with buff; throat, breast, sides of 

 neck, and round the eye orange red, encir- 

 cled above by bluish grey ; belly white ; 

 legs brown. The sexes are similar. 



The Young before their first moult are 

 brown, mottled with yellowish (fig. 2). 



Varieties. — Mr. Bond has one pale drab, 

 lighter on the back; another with white 

 tail and wings ; one slaty colour with ochre- 

 coloured breast ; one with white cap shot in 

 Norfolk ; and another white faintly tinged 

 with local colours in diflerent parts. Two 

 are reported from Norfolk (Nat. (1864) i., 

 p. 164), one " of a bluish slate colour, lighter 

 on the breast and abdomen ;" and the other 

 "white, mottled with small patches of its 

 usual colour." Another is recorded from 

 the same county (Nat. ii., p. 26) having 

 •'the surface of its head, neck, back, and 

 upper wing coverts dull yellow; the red 

 throat and breast much paler than in ordi- 

 nary specimens ; upper surface of wings 

 and tail of a pale yellow, gradually inclining 

 to white at the tips of the quill feathers ; 

 the shafts of the same also white ; under 

 surface of wings and tail pale yellowish 

 brown ; belly white ; flanks, thighs, and 

 vent of a pale yellowish tint ; iris light 

 hazel ; bill and legs pale yellow. — Female." 

 Yarrell records having " seen one in which 

 the part usually coloured red was a light 

 bluish grey, the back and wings bluish 

 green." A dun variety is reported (Zool., 

 p. 8949), and numerous other pied ones are 

 recorded. 



Note.—The robin has a sweet and 

 pleasing song, though composed of a very 

 few notes. Its autumn song generally com- 

 mences during the latter half of August and 

 is continued far into the winter. It also 

 sings very late in the evening. 



Migration. — The robin draws nearer 

 to the habitations of man as winter 



approaches, and some leave England after 

 the breeding season. 



Plight.— The flight is rather quick, but 

 only for short distances. 



Pood. — The food of the robin consists 

 of insects, such as caterpillars and flies, bits 

 of bread crumbs and kitchen refuse, also 

 small fruits, such as currants, blackberries, 

 elderberries, &c., &c. 



Habitat. — Common in all parts of 

 Britain, frequenting hedge banks, woods 

 and gardens. In winter they approach 

 human habitations in search of food, and 

 will become exceedingly familiar, entering 

 houses, and even hopping about the table 

 where the family are assembled. When 

 winter is over they seek their natural food 

 in their usual haunts ; but the same bird will 

 again return to the house where it was wel- 

 comed before. 



Abroad it is found in all the temperate 

 countries of Europe, North Africa, and 

 Western Asia, also Malta, The Canaries, 

 and Madeira. 



Nest. — The nest is generally placed in 

 a cavity on a bank, in a place where it is 

 protected or hid by herbage or roots. 

 Sometimes very strange situations are made 

 choice of by these familiar birds : they have 

 been known to build on the curtains of a 

 bed, on a shelf in a room, in flower pots, in 

 a human skull, and in various other queer 

 places. The nest is composed of dry stems 

 and leaves of plants, with a little moss, and 

 lined with hair. 



Eggs. — Five eggs are laid, sometimes 

 six. They are very pale yellowish grey, 

 with indistinct pale red-brown spots (fig. i.) 



Varieties. — These eggs vary much in 

 the intensity of the spotting. Sometimes 

 they are pure white without any spots. 

 Figs. 2 and 3 are from eggs in Mrs. 

 Battersby's collection, and fig. 4 is from my 

 own collection. 



