The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-12
THE BIRD OF SONG AND STORY
The Domestic Habits of the Robin, the
Pretty Early Morning Warbler.
How 1t Protects Itself Against RapaciOus AMI
mails and Birds-A Winter Home of Rob-
ms in Vermillion County, Indiana.

II talked to you the other day about the con-
gregational habits of the crow" remarked Prof.
John Colett to a Journal reporter. II might
have given you a similar chapter on the robin
Being encouraged to proceed, he said IA
great many thinE our robin is the robin red
breast of England, but it is not, though almost
as domestic in it's habits, returning season after
season to it's former haunts and identifying itself
with especial localities. Any Of the pleasant
stories told of the English robin will fit his
American red-vested pamesake He appreciates
kindness and will make show of affection to
those who treat him we'll. Robins select their
nesting places with shrewd wit and Judgment
They choose locations defended from access of
animals aud rapacious birds, such as opossums,
raccoons weasels, field mice, snakes, crows, jays
and hawks. Another enemy is the polecat
These all prey upon birds eggs. A
raccoon will carry eggs from a quarter
to half mile to feed to its young.
A mother coon once carried off from my hen.
house the porcelain nest-egg found it more
than quarter of mile away. / have no doubt
the astonishment of that coon family, when
they tried to crack the egg for the expected
feast, would have been very amusing affair
could any one have seen it, / once put strych-
nine in eggs in my poultry yard, which had been
frequently deprecated by animals, and about an
eighth of mile away. in a swamp, found two
baby 'coons, poisoned by an egg carried to them
by the mother. To protect themselves against
such enemies the robins build their nests in
thorn-bushes, among wild roses on slender
supports that will bear only the slightest weight
N m m
were filled with robins nests No cat or other
four-footed depredator can climb over the sharp
thorns
''There Is no pleasanter songster than the
robin. They are true sun-worshipers, and pour
out their melody in ravishing strains before the
great luminary of the day is apparent to our
eyes. while, as the sun rises higher. the red
breast of the warbler CLOVIS like coal of fire.
Children nowadays, as Of yore, take delight in
that story of the babes in the wood. who died
and were buried by the robins with fragrant
forest leaves AS / said, those were English
robins. but our robins are equally sympathetic,
and doubtless, If opportunity offered, would do
as neat piece OF arboreal funeral directoring as
was done so long ago by the robins in Britain
It Is in the spring, with the FIRST blossoms, some
times rather before. that the robins return jubi-
liant to begin their summer housekeeping. few
years ago / watched with much interest pair
of robins in the old State-house yard. There
was q large amount of conversation between the
birds over each stick and straw that went into
the nest When the blue eggs were laid / saw
that the nest had actually been built with refer
ence to the weather. If they had had direc-
tons from the signal Office they couldn't have
done better-hardly so WE'LL perhaps. 1t was
protected from the prevailing west and south
winds. One day stiff storm came from the
northeast. The female was brooding over her
blue treasures in the nest With the first gust
of wind and the first patter of the rain-drops,
cock robin came, perched himself upon branch,
and with outstretolbd wing, protected his mate
from the storm.
In the fall the robins come together in large
numbers. Then held what may be called
county, district and larger assemblies. AS
winter approaches the family seems to disappear.
Hence their name, 'turdus mgratorious.' or mi
gratory thrush 1t was long supposed that they
passed their winters in some far Southern Cline
Florida or Mexico. In 1868, as cold weather
came on. robins began to congregate in twenty
acre swamp of low bushes in Vermillon county
this State, latitude 400 AS the ground was soft
and miry it was not accessible to disturbing ami
mails The willow bushes were from five to
eight or ten feet high, and the tops were bent
over to afford good footing for roostlng. The
surface OF the ground was covered with numer
Gus small branches of spring water which did
not freeze in the winter and was filled with
fresh water shells and animals The bushes were
too small and timber to allow opossums, 'coons
and such animals to climb 1t is hardly possible
that the selection of this place by the birds, with
its food supply, It's mIlder temperature and its
/ think it showed careful selection by the birds
AS the cold weather increased the robins came
to this place by many thousands and the marsh
was covered with them on every limb. These
numbers increased to what we vaguely computed
to be millions. This appeared to be the central
point and inves tigaton showed that they came
from an area of more than eighty miles square,
from the neighborhoods of Greencastle Attica.
Terre Haute and Rockville, Indiana Urbana,
Paris and Danvie, Illinois How much larger
the area may have been is not known. Now, no
can make me believe that great feathered
gathering was without head and direction. From
the precision with which bodies of them moved
am certain they were under discipline
and direction; they had their cap
tains of thousands and tens of thou
sands. During the daytim these
robins broke up into small foraging parties, and
often went long distances for food When
spring came they scattered over their national
domain. They never returned to that place for
another winters encampment. The next year.
1864. the newspapers reported that the robin
family had assembled by millions in western
Kentucky, had remained through the winter,
and gave as a reason for the assemblage that it
was caused by the warning condition of the
South / think it was caused by other condi-
tons. chiefly of food and water There are fire.
auently large assemblages of robins in the Kan
kakee marshes of Indiana and Illinois, and the
swampy points of southern Indiana and south
Illinois, but not of the national chars cter, if
may use the term, of the assemblage in Yer
million county in 1863"
Packer Armour's Way.