582 
A YEAR WITH THE BIRDS 
American Robin: Merula migratoria. R. 
Length: 10 inches. 
Male: Above olive-gray, head black, wings dark brown, tail black with 
white spot on two outer quills. Entire breast brick-red. Throat 
streaked with black and white. White eyelids. Bill yellow, 
dusky at tip; feet dark. 
Female: Paler throughout, resembling the autumn plumage of the 
male. 
Song: A vigorous interrogative melody, cheerful but somewhat lack- 
ing in variety. “ Do you think what you do, do you think what 
you do, do you think?” Call note, “Quick! Quick!” 
Seasons Present all the year. The migratory flocks come in March 
and leave in October and early November. 
Nest: On a horizontal branch, in a tree crotch, hedge, or strong vine. 
Made of small sticks, plastered more or less and lined with mud. 
Eggs: 4, of the peculiar green-blue, known by the name of the bird. 
The Robin is found throughout the United States east of the 
' Great Plains, and is represented farther west by a slightly 
different subspecies. It extends far north through Canada, 
and is found even in Alaska. Although the great bulk of the 
species leaves the northern states in winter, a few individuals 
remain in sheltered swamps, where wild berries furnish an 
abundant supply of food. 
The Robin builds its nest in orchards and gardens, and 
occasionally takes advantage of a nook about the house, or 
under the shelter of the roof of a shed or outbuilding. Its 
food habits have sometimes caused apprehension to the fruit 
grower, for it is fond of cherries and other small fruits, par- 
ticularly the earlier varieties. For this reason many com- 
plaints have been lodged against it, and some persons have 
gone so far as to condemn the bird. The Robin is, however, 
too valuable to be exterminated, and choice fruit can be readily 
protected from its depredations. 
An examination of 330 stomachs shows that over 42 per 
cent, of its food is animal matter, principally insects, while the 
remainder is made up largely of small fruits or berries. Over 
19 per cent, consists of beetles, about one-third of which are 
useful ground beetles, taken mostly in spring and fall, when 
other insects are scarce. Grasshoppers make up about one- 
tenth of the whole food, but in August comprise over 30 per 
cent. Caterpillars form about 6 per cent., while the rest of the 
animal food, about 7 per cent., is made up of various insects, 
with a few spiders, snails, and angle-worms. All the grass- 
