BIRDS OF DUMFRIESSHIRE 
the fact to a " crowding-down " in this county by a retarded 
migration. In 1851 a nest with eggs was found at the end 
of November at Gribton (Holy wood).* 
Curious nesting-sites are annually discovered, and I have 
personally found nests in an old kettle, a discarded 
shoe, and in the pocket of a coat hung up in an out- 
house. In the Daily Mail of June 26th, 1909, appears 
the following : 
" A Dumfriesshire Robin has made its nest in a corner 
of a lady's boudoir. Owing to the awkward position which 
it chose, the bird had some difficulty in constructing the 
nest, but the young lady who occupied the room placed 
a small cardboard box at its disposal, of which the Red- 
breast availed itseK. Five eggs have been duly hatched 
out. The bird enters and leaves the room by a window 
which is purposely left open, and it shows no signs of 
timidity." ^ 
The eggs vary considerably in intensity of colour, and 
pure white specimens have been found. 
Robins are at all times pugnacious, particularly so in the 
spring. Richard Bell mentions a cock Robin in his aviary 
at Castle O'er which killed four others on four consecutive 
days.f 
There is an old local rhyme :— 
" The Robin and Wren 
Are God's cock and hen," 
which even now seems to be respected by the egg-stealing 
schoolboy, and many are the curious, improbable stories 
connected with this universal favourite. We read of a 
Robin near Annan which had been fed daily during the 
winter of 1819-1820 turning up one day as usual for its 
dole, but dragging after it the dead carcase of another 
of its species, apparently to share the meal ! % Mr. Kirk- 
patrick states that a Robin which frequented his garden in 
* Naturalist, Vol. II., 1852, p. 206. 
t My Strange Pets, pp. 114, 115. 
X Dumfries Courier, January 4th, 1820. 
C 
