184 
The Robin 
hoppers ( Tettix ), bugs (Pentatomidce ) , beetles (chrysomelids, weevils, 
bill-bugs and carabids), beetle-larvae (wire-worms and 
*Eaten others), caterpillars, including cutworms. Another 
day I collected three other Robins which had eaten 
insects, including larvae of crane-flies (Tipulidce ) , which are sometimes 
known as leather- jackets. The larvae feed on the roots of grasses, includ- 
ing grain-crops and other plants, and are sometimes quite injurious. 
“Each one of these three birds had eaten one or more specimens of 
a leaf-beetle ( Myochrous denticollis ) , a plant-feeder, and injurious. On 
a basis of the eighteen stomachs I have examined this month, I consider 
the Robin to be essentially an insectivorous bird in Louisiana in February. 
I notice that great numbers of the Robins feed in open, grassy fields, 
where their diet must consist largely of animal matter, as the birds do 
not eat weed-seeds. They are shot here from morning to night; shots 
are heard in every direction.” 
The National Association of Audubon Societies has long been work- 
ing to secure the passage of laws better calculated to protect the Robin, 
and its efforts were greatly strengthened by the financial aid rendered 
by Mrs. Russell Sage. We believed that in every State 
Protection t ^ ie Union this bird should be placed on the list 
of protected species, and never allowed to be killed 
as game. Although Robin shooting, in the South especially, has long 
been considered a legitimate sport, the time has surely come when the 
hunters should be willing to give up this practice in view of the many 
useful qualities of the bird. 
These efforts were in so far successful that the Robin became pro- 
tected in all the States of the Union, except six of the Southern States, 
when, on October i, 1914, the Federal Migratory-Bird Law went into 
effect. This, of course, covered the Robin ; and the friends of the bird 
are doing what they can to insure its safety under the terms of that act. 
Classification and Distribution 
The Robin ( Planesticus migratorius ) belongs to the Order Passeres, Sub- 
order O seines, and Family Turdidce — the Thrushes. It ranges throughout North 
America from the southern end of the Mexican tableland northward to the limit 
of trees in Labrador and thence to Alaska. In this great area it is represented by 
three geographical races : the Eastern Robin ( Planesticus migratorius migra- 
torius), the male of which is shown in the accompanying plate; the Western 
Robin ( P . m. propinquus) , which is like the eastern bird, but has little or no white 
in the tail and no black markings on the back; and the Southern Robin ( P . m. 
achrusterus) , which, in the Alleghany Mountains, breeds as far south as northern 
Georgia, and is smaller and paler than the northern bird. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
