46 
OUR HOME BIRDS. 
“ I am going to tell you about robins to-night,” 
replied Miss Harson, drawing the little girl up to her, 
“and you shall have a nice 
story, which I think you will 
like quite as well as that of 
‘Cock Robing who was an 
English bird. (Fig. 3.) How 
will that do ?” 
Edith thought it would do 
very well, and settled herself 
comfortably on her teacher’s 
lap to listen. Malcolm had found a robin among the 
pictures, and pronounced him “a great fat fellow, in 
a dingy-brown coat and a black-and-yellow vest.” 
“ He is not a small bird, certainly,” said Miss Har- 
son, “ for he measures nine and a half inches, and 
generally looks in very good condition ; his head and 
tail, you see, are black, and his back may be called 
an ash-color ; the wings are also black, edged with 
a lighter shade of ash ; the upper part of the breast 
is black streaked with white, and the lower part a 
dark orange. Mrs. Robin is plainer-looking than her 
husband, having more ash-color outside, and only a 
little pale orange on her breast. (Fig. 4.) 
“ The robin is also an early bird, but little later 
than the blue-bird, and often appearing almost at the 
same time. Even in March, we are told, while snow 
Fig. 3 . — English Robin. 
