THE ROBIN. 
116 
autumn ; which in some measure accounts for the ex- 
traordinary assertion of Pliny, that the redbreast is only 
so in winter, but becomes a firetail in summer. 
The object of the song of birds is not agreed upon 
by ornithologists, and we will not now think of it, but 
merely in passing note how singularly timed the song 
of the robin is. The blackbird, and the thrush, in mild 
seasons, will sing occasionally throughout the winter ; 
but the robin, after having been absent all the summer, 
returns to us late in autumn, and then commences its 
song, when most others of our feathered choristers are 
silent. An apparent contention in harmony ensues 
among them; at length the rivals approach, menace, 
and fight, with a seeming vexation at each other’s prow- 
ess. The song of no one bird is, perhaps, more observ- 
ed and remembered than the autumnal and, at times, 
melancholy sounding farewell of the robin. 
The chaffinch (fringilla coelebs) appears to be uni- 
versally spread throughout the English counties, and 
the male bird is remarkable for the cleanliness and 
trimness of his plumage, which, without having any 
great variety or splendor of coloring, is so composed 
and arranged, and the white on his wings so brilliant, 
as to render him a very beautiful little creature. The 
female is as remarkable for the quiet, unobtrusive tint- 
ings of her dress ; and, when she lies crouching on her 
nest, elegantly formed of lichens from the bark of the 
apple tree, and faded mosses, she would hardly be per- 
ceptible, but for her little bright eyes, that peep with 
suspicious vigilance from her covert. With us the sexes 
do not separate at any period of the year, the flocks 
frequenting our barn doors and homesteads in winter 
being composed of both. In the northern parts of Eu- 
rope, however, the females are said to migrate to milder 
regions, which induced Linnaeus to bestow the name 
of “ccelebs” upon this species. In Gloucestershire 
and some of the neighboring counties, they are little 
known by the name of chaffinches ; but, from the con- 
stant repetition of one note, when alarmed or in danger, 
they have acquired the name of “ twinks,” and “ pinks 
yet during incubation the song of the male bird, though 
