Our native Robin is not closely related to the bird that the English call “Robin Redbreast.” He is rather a relative of the Bluebird and the Thrush. Before the young of the Robin leave the nest, their breasts are speckled as are the breasts of the Thrushes. After the first moult, this marking disappears. Some of the Robins are with us all through the year. However, only the hardiest of them stay during the Winter. The majority travel to the warmer climates. Those who come to us from the South arrive about the first of March and depart toward the end of October.

A writer in “A Masque of Poets” has described the cheer in the Robin’s song very well. Robin music has real melody and expression. Indeed, there are very few of our birds that have what might be called as great a vocabulary, or as many expressive notes, as has this familiar bird.

Nest: The nest of the Robin is built of grasses, rootlets and leaves. The interior is well lined or plastered with a layer of mud. Another layer of fine grass forms the bed upon which the greenish blue eggs are laid. These eggs are from three to five in number. Robins often raise two families each year. The young of the first brood leave the nest toward the first of July.

Food: In June and July, Robins feed to some extent upon berries and similar fruits. However, what little harm they may do in this way is vastly offset by the good that is done during the rest of the year. The Robins are gleaners of insects. They eat great quantities of beetles and their grubs, grasshoppers, crickets, ants and other plant pests. One of the most comical sights of bird feeding is to see a large, round, healthy Robin struggle to pull a resisting, equally healthy, earthworm from its hole in the ground. Often, the worm breaks in two and the Robin, suddenly and most unexpectedly, tumbles over backward. The Robin seems to “Listen” for the worm as he walks and hops over the lawn in the early morning.