22 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
America, and later in Australia, the familiar name 
of Robin was bestowed on birds different in each 
case from our English species, but showing a like- 
ness to it in their ruddy breasts, and, to some 
extent, in their habit of frequenting the neighbour- 
hood of human dwellings. The Robin is a con- 
stant singer, almost all through the year. He 
stops singing with the completion of the nesting 
season and the extreme summer heat about the 
same time as the Song Thrush, in the early days of 
July; but he may be heard beginning again as soon 
as the first touch of autumnal coolness is felt in the 
more dewy mornings, often as early as the beginning 
of August, and from that time on he may be 
heard in mild weather all through the winter. The 
Robin's regular nesting-place is in a hole in a 
hedge-side, bank, or a wall, but the list is endless 
of the extraordinary situations chosen by this bird. 
Sometimes, like the Water-wagtail and a few other 
species, it will build its own nest inside the old or 
deserted nest of a Thrush or Blackbird, occasionally 
above the eggs of the former owners. The nest 
is, as a rule, somewhat loosely built of dry leaves 
(another point of likeness between the Robin and 
the Nightingale) and a little moss, and is lined 
chiefly with hair. Four to six or even seven eggs 
are laid, of a yellowish or brownish-white ground 
colour, much blurred and clouded with spots of 
