only formed for harmony and lovo, bristling up with rage, every
feather like '(pulls upon the fretful porcupine,'eyes on fire, and their
tiny heads making circles of defiance before the first collision, which
a! way s terminated by our separating the combatants, who retreated
severally to their respecf Lve districts: so fierce have they been that
they have even fought upon our hands.' The broods of the two
birds in due season appeared, but were of different dispositions,
like their parent!, or rather, differently educated in consequence
of the difference in them. The one set came not near at all; the
others were brought close to the ladies, but the moment the old bird
perceived them approach too near, he would dash among thein with
a great flutter, and scatter them to a proper distance; he was so
much on the alert, that they never succeeded in attracting them, and
they disappeared entirely during the summer. Mr. Thompson narrates
a similar action on the part of the parent of a young Kobin which
followed a relative of his through the garden, ate food from his hand,
and also gave him its 'most sweet company' by perching on his knee
or shoulder when he was seated in a garden-chair; this degree of
familiarity . however, was not at all approved of by an old bird, most
probably the parent, wliieh several times rushed quickly past and
drove it away.
The lady concludes, ' T h e only sources of annoyance our birds had
with us, wen1 from the dog and the cat, who occasionally accompanied
us in our walks,—of the latter they were very much afraid, although
she was quite amenable to orders, and did not attempt to molest
them,—but, strange to say, with the dog they were much better friends,
although, in defiance of all correction, he would frequently make a
bounce at them, but only in play; Terry seemed to know this, often
remaining quietly on my hand, while Rory stood at my side gazing
at him, and we were much amused to watch occasionally a kind of
race between them, as they accompanied us down the avenue to the
front gate, a distance of about two hundred and fifty yards, the dog
running before us, and the bird flying from tree to tree during the
whole way and back again.'
The Rev. E. I. Moor, in a letter to Mr. Meyer, says, ' A young naval
friend of mine, Mr. R. Burroughes, told me that as his ship was once
in the Ray of Biscay, at a considerable distance from any laud, a
common Robin Redbreast was picked up one morning on deck, weak
and wounded; it had been driven against a mast of the ship in the
night, which was rough and squally. The bird was attended to, and
recovered, and continued with the vessel until she reached Bengal,
where it was taken to land and liberated. It used to fly about the
rigging, and come down on the deck to be fed. Mr. Burroughes added,
that it was highly curious to see the Robin preparing to shelter itself
about the different parts of the rigging, etc., upon the approach of
any coarse weather.
At a gentleman's house in Darley Dale, in Derbyshire, as mentioned
in the ' Derby Reporter,' a Robin domiciled for three successive winters,
having had ingress and egress during the day, with the privilege of
free access to a well-stocked larder, partaking at will of what it contained.
Its roosting-placc was usually on a Christmas bough in the kitchen,
winch was retained for its dormitory. It used to enter for the night
at dusk of evening, having during the day occasionallv sung for hours
together to the domestics, as if to reward them for cherishing it thus
bountifully. Kach year it built its nest in the trunk of a tree near
the house, and fed its young from the larder. Being so familiar with
the household, it would fly undauntedly from room to room, and
occasionally alight on the family breakfast-table, sometimes perching and
chirping, as if to ingratiate itself with its hospitable entertainers.
Mr. Macgillivray writes, ' I n the summer of 1835, a male Robin in
my garden became so tame that he picked from the hand of the gardener;
and in the middle of the day, when the latter took his dinner, he
constantly attended for the purpose of obtaining a portion of it. Upon
the knee of my wife 1 have frequently seen him alight, and take bread
out of her hand as familiarly as if he had been tamed from the nest.
To me he likewise became very much attached: he continued so during
the autumn. One cold morning in the beginning of winter, as I was
standing at the door of my house, having heard my voice, he immediately
flew to me, and, seeming to claim my protection, followed me into the
parlour, where he was quite at ease. I caught him and put him into
my garret, in which, during the winter, he sang most delightfully.
Being sorry to see him alone, I got for him a helpmate to cheer him
in his confinement. About the middle of April I set them at liberty,
and, to my surprise, a few days after I discovered a very neat nest
which they had built. About eight days after this, while I was sitting
in the parlour, my old friend flew in, and immediately recognised me;
after keeping him for two weeks, I put him out, when he flew to the
garden, where he remained during the summer, and with his partner
reared a brood of six fine Robins.*
The Robin, when accustomed to be undisturbed, will frequently
approach very near to those who are working in gardens, to pick up
any insects which they may happen to disturb; and will sometimes even
alight on the edge of the basket of a fruit-gatherer. The Misses
Gilchrist, at Sunbury, had a tame Robin, which spent all it* life with