REDBR EAST.
nnil also in some pels hanging in one of tlie outdoor ferneries. At first I was of opinion that Hats had
ought the insects, which numbered at least two or three hundred; shortly afier, however, a Robin was
seen perched among the ferns with a moth in its benk. These birds are especially foud of wheat, six or
eight grains being the utmost they consume at a time; a few will take oats, hut none I have watched
attempted to swallow barley, which is doubtless unsuitable for digestion. On the 11th of August, 1883, I
noticed a young Robin with a partially red breast hovering over a barberry-hush and seizing the ripe
berries in his beak. After securing one or two he retired to the shelter of some of the adjoining shrubs
to rest, returning shortly for a further supply; the prickly stems and leaves of the plant probably
rendered it impossible for the bird to settle on the branches.
Some years back, nl a farm in the east of Sussex, I was shown a most elaborately constructed
cradle whieh a Robin had built in the corner of a coop in which a hen was confined with a
brood of chickens, the two families appearing to agree in the most satisfactory manner, Though
the Robins that resort to our ferneries have the option of building in most comfortable quarters,
the spots they select are at times exceedingly singular. On one occasion a nest was placed on the bare
ground below the spreading fronds of a large root of Scolopriti/rinm. The young would doubtless hnvo
escaped undetected had not a strong volume from the hose, while watering the ferns, induced them to
turn out somewhat prematurely. Early in the present season a pair of birds gave themselves tlio
trouble to scrape out the mould from a small crevice in the rockery in which to place their nest,
though far inoro suitable quarters surrounded them on all sides. Large quantities of mould and sand
wire scratched out and a round stone weighing over a couple of ounces was loosened and then dragged
from its position, several pieces of broken brick being also removed. For ten days or a fortnight from
the "JCth of February they were busily employed in this needless undertaking, and, owing to tho
confined space, when their work was accomplished the female while sitting appeared exceedingly cramped,
the tail being doubled up at right angles to her body. The brood having been hatched in duo
course, the five youngsters so completely blocked up the space that one or two were forced out of tho
aperture on to the ledge outside. Profiting by past experience, the old birds selected for their
stcond nest a much more extensive cavity among the blocks of stone. Another pair having attempted
to build in the drooping tendrils of a creeping rock-plant, eventually discovered that their
nest was too heavy for its supports to bear the weight. Undaunted by their first failure, a second
nest was commenced in an adjoining plant, and to this structure they built up a foundation from the
sprouting fronds of a strong root of Luntreit Fili.r^mas. The mass of dead leaves and moss they bad
gathered together measured just over fourteen inches in height and occupied the birds a neck to
collect. Though a fortnight or three weeks often elapses from the time of the coiuuieueeincnt of their
nest till eggs are laid, Robius, when pressed for time, can l>c far more expeditious. A few weeks back
a pair had just completed their second nest on u shelf in a summer-house when tho removal of a
hair broom into which one side of their edifice had been entwined gave olleuee, and another nest was
begun in a coil of rope (the stays of a lawn-tennis net) on the same shelf, ami only a few feet distant
from the previous one. This was commenced soon after midday on the 27th of April, and an egg was laid
on the following day. The materials were certainly somewhat scanty, though the cradle was carefully
lined, the coil of a rope assisting to form a sufficiently substantial exterior.
Though beneficial to a certain extent in the ferneries, the Robins take great delight in detaching
small pieces of moss from the stones; at times a concealed grub may unor an excuse for these attacks,
though 1 fully believe the pure lovo of mischief prompts them in most instances to commit these
depredations.
Occasionally after dark the male (hot frequents our indoor fernery approaches the entrance to the
REDBREAST,
rooms in tho house and, selecting a porch to which the glare of the lights penetrates, will continue
siugiug for some time: I have repeatedly listened to him as late as a quarter past nine. Tho Robin
is also one of our earliest songsters, being heard not uufreqiiently before the day has fairly broken ;
his plaintive note also proves especially attractive in the depth of winter, when almost every other bird
ia sheltering from the cutting blasts.