THE BLUE-THROATS. 
279 
parts of the village gardens before they finally take flight across 
the Channel. 
The Robin is a general favourite, not only on account of its 
trustful disposition and tameness, but also on account of its 
song, which is heard at all times of the year excepting during 
the moulting season, and is always welcome in winter, when the 
voices of most birds are silent. The call-note of the Robin is 
clear and musical, but the cry of distress, as when a cat comes 
near the nest, is a long drawn shrill note — one of the most 
disagreeable and ear-splitting notes imaginable. 
Nest. — All kinds of situations are chosen for the home of the 
Robin, and the nest may be found in the hole of a wall or a 
tree, whilst an old can or kettle, discarded by the housewife 
and thrown away amongst the rubbish of the garden, is often 
utilised. Very often the nest is placed amongst ivy or on the 
ground, particularly in a moss-covered bank, where the herbage 
conceals it. The foundation of the nest consists of dead 
leaves and moss, but it is neatly lined with rootlets and hair. 
Eg g S . — From five to eight in number. Ground-colour buffy- 
white or china-white. They vary a good deal in the tint 
of colour and markings, some being nearly spotless, while 
others are thickly clouded with rufous markings, collecting at 
the larger end. In some specimens the whole egg is thickly 
sprinkled with reddish spots, while in others the blotches 
are larger and sparsely distributed. Axis, o'8-o'9 ; diam., 
0 55— 0 65. Mr. Robert Read gives it as his experience that 
eggs from the North of England and Scotland are more heavily 
marked than those from the south. He has sets of white and 
pale blue eggs in his collection. (Plate xxix., fig. 3.) 
THE BLUE-THROATS. GENUS CYANECULA. 
Cyanecula, C. L. Brehm, Isis, 1828, p. 1280. 
Type, C. suecica (Linn.). 
These pretty birds have been placed along with the Robins 
in modern classifications, and there can be no doubt that they 
are closely allied to those birds, but they form a natural genus, 
remarkable for their style of coloration. They differ from the 
Robins in having the rictal bristles scarcely perceptible, and in 
