ROBIN'. 
3 
HABITS. 
We landed at Key West in November, 1870, only a week or two after the fearful hurricanes 
which, during the latter part of October, had raged along the coast, doing an immense amount 
of damage. The Florida Reefs, from Tortugas to Cape Canaveral, were strewn with wrecks, 
and many of the smaller keys were swept by the water, which rose to a great height. Even the 
little city of Key West suffered much from the effects of the gale. The long fringed leaves of 
the cocoa-nut palms were twisted and torn in such a manner that the beauty of many of these 
stately trees, which had been the pride of the city, was sadly marred. Orchards, in which 
lately flourished the orange, citron, pomegranate, and other tropical trees and shrubs were 
visited by the destroying typhoon, and the ripening fruit dashed to the ground. Gardens, 
before lovely with flowers of varied hues, where the night blooming cereus gave out its fragrance 
when the Southern cross shone down, were disfigured, and in many cases ruined. In fact, the 
whole, island was but a wreck of what it was before this scourge came upon it. 
Nor was this all; after a few weeks of extreme drought, rains fell accompanied by intense 
heat, and the danger of yellow fever was imminent. Everybody was longing for cooler weather, 
but’ in vain ; still the heat continued until even the birds, which were quite abundant upon our 
arrival, left the island. But as all such tedious seasons must, have an end, so relief came to the 
inhabitants of Key West in the form of a cool, dry " norther.” We had some heavy showers, 
during which rain fell, as only tropical rains can fall, and deluged the island. After this the 
wind blew fresh from the snow fields of-the Northland, driving the pestilential vapors before it, 
swiftly and surely, until the Key was cleansed. Indeed it blew so long and so cold, and the 
thermometer fell so low, that the "oldest inhabitant” could not bring to mind a like instance. 
The fishes and crabs along the shore were surprised in shoal water by this unusual occurrence, 
and, although the weather was not actually freezing (the thermometer only stood at 40°), died 
in immense numbers and were washed on shore. 
In the very midst of this chilly weather I awoke one morning to hear the cheery notes of the 
Robin. I went out among the shrubbery and found that there were thousands, the whole island 
being filled with them, and their energetic call notes resounded on all sides. So suddenly had 
they appeared that it seemed as if they had been born from the breath of the North Wind. 
Their advent seemed unusual, for our venerable friend opened his eyes and declared that they 
had not favored the Key with a visit for years, and that their coming promised more cool weather. 
I was glad to see their red breasts again, even if they did look out of place among the strange 
foliaged trees, and to hear their brusque notes once more. They were restless, however, and 
constantly flitted from place to place, as if discontented with the locality. During the day great 
flocks rose up from the Key, and, after ascending high in air, steered southward towards Cuba. 
This was Christmas time, and they continued to visit the Key for some days, but by the first of 
January they all disappeared as suddenly as they came. 
On the 9th of October, I found them abundant at Miami, on the southern portion of the 
main laud of Florida. They appeared in large flocks, at intervals, until March, but were restless, 
ever moving, as is their nature. So I have always found them, out of the breeding season, 
whether on the mountains of Maine, among the villages and gardens of Massachusetts, or in 
the trackless piny woods of Florida. Rightly did the Swedish naturalist name them the 
Migratory Thrush, for they possess a true nomadic spirit. The want of food appears to be 
the motive of these excursions. During this season the Robins are very shy; even in the wilds 
of Florida they could be approached only with difficulty, and generally kept in the woods. 
The birds seem to move in waves over these immense woodland plains, and the Robins would 
be accompanied by flocks of Warblers, Woodpeckers, Bluebirds and Jays. I have observed this 
elsewhere to some extent, but in Florida it is quite striking. I. have walked for hours in the 
