The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1888-05-12
OUR OLD FRIEND.
Robin Red Breast, His Family and
His Nature.

|
Monthly.l
Our American robin Is thrush-the red
breasted thrush is the proper title-he occu.
pies high position in the line of bird life
and possesses some very interesting records
of his family history. When our forefathers
first came over they found the frank, hearty
bird with the russell breast ready to make
friends with them, to stay about the clear
ings and around THAR rough cabins, cheering
them with the strong, hopeful song that has
ever gladdened the heart with its vigor and
fullness Of promise. With what joy the
pioneers must have welcomed the first spring
that brought the robins back after the long
dreary winterl To this day the first
robin Of the spring creates a sensation.
coming as he does, amid the ice and the snow
and the rough wind, and not leaf on the
trees. The early settlers called him robin"
from his red breast, no doubt, and bis con-
tiding ways, after the trpsty little warbler so
dear to their hearts in the old home across
the sea. And so 1t has been robin" ever
since, although our bird is but distantly re
lated to the little robin-redbreast Of the Old
World, who bel ongs to the warblers-another
branch of the family.
| BY virtue of being thrush, our robin en-
| joys very extensive range OF country for
his habitat From the Atlantic to the Pa
| cifc, across the continent, from the shores OF
the Arctic Ocean to Mexico and Central Am
| erica, he is found abundantly, breeding
! throughout the forest limits OF this wide are
| ma, and building the same nest Of dried grass,
| roots and plastered mud about every home
stead in the land. Although bird OF the
| woodland, like all the thrushes, he yet pre-
| fQr9 the OardQn and the OrChar0-eVpn The
| trees that stand in the midst OF the bustilng
| city hold its nest. Insectlv0rous by nature,
| but varying his diet largely with the small,
| wild berries of the woods, the robin has be-
| come, since mans invasion, lover OF fruit,
| keeping pace with man in the cultivation OF
| his taste. The excellence of his taste cannot
be denied. He takes the biggest cherries Of
the most approved varieties, and the lueious
strawberries are his delight. Yet for all the
fruit he eats he repays the horticulturalist
double by devouring threefold more OF insect
life that would ultimately cover and destroy
the trees, leaf, root and branch. Fortunate 1t
is that we have recognized his valuable ser
vice, and protected him by legislation.
The true thrushes-and the robin may be
taken as type-present some very interest
ing features in their development, characters
and geographical distribution, study OF
which throws light not only upon the history
Of the birds themselves, but also upon sever
al widely different subjects.
The thrushes belong TO the most highly or
gained group of birdS-the Passeres-and
are farthest removed in structure from tie
early reptilold forms. They possess the most
complete vocal apparatus,-a syrinx-situat-
ed at the lower end of the windpipe, withfve
Intrinsic pairs OF muscles. The wing has I'M
dergone reduction In the number Of its
primaries or quill-feathers growing from the
long finger, there being ten of these, the first
one short and abortive, so that the thrushes
may be looked upon as still advancing to-
ward the highest type Of wing structure, that
afw farw.A
the foot or leg is 'boOted"-i. e., covered by
an unbroken plate Of hard, leathery skin, not
reticulated and scaled. as in other forms. A
decided change has also taken place in the
''molt," or shedding Of feathers, the autumn
nal mott being the only complete process,
while the spring change Is effected simply by
the ''casting" off of the broken points OF
feathers in the worn plumage. The young
of all the thrushes are spotted in their nest
ling dress, but never carry them beyond the
first autumn, assuming the full plumage of
the old birds after the first mott so that "a
bird Of the year" in the late fall and winter
is scarcely distinguishable from its parents.
Any one who is familiar with the young rob
ms hopping about the lawn in the early
summer, with their spotted breasts and mot
tied backs, may have wondered what became
OF them by October.
The thrushes are the migratory birds in the
temperate zone, as the nature Of their food
demands, partaklng in the general north and
south movement during the spring and fall
tides of migration. Though not strictly gre
garious, many Of the species associate in
loose floeks. on the approach of autumn, and
forage over the country In quest OF food.
We are all familiar with the focks Of robins
in the fall, scattering overhead, or In the gum
trees feasting on the ripe, black fruit. They
are for the most part aboreal, living largely
among the trees, but some of the species
build their nests on the ground, or in the I'M
dergrowth just above it, and all OF them fire.
quent the ground at times when food is TO be
obtained there. Being among the most high
ly organized Of birds, the thrushes are con-
sequently rapid livers. possessing high oe-
gree of vitality, and consuming very large
proportion of oxygen. Great feeders, strong
of wing and stout of heart, with warm, fast
flowing blood and high temperature, they
are in every sense OF the word, alive to their
environment.
The robin and his worldwide congeners
form the genus 1trdns, or true thrushes,
comprising upward Of fifty well-defined
species distributed throughout the forest re-
gions of the globe, excepting Australia and
New Zealand. where they are replaced by an
allied group.
In the palaartic region of the Old World
four widely distributed species occur, all
having spotted breasts in the adult plumage.
The red-winged thrush breeds in the birch
region and throughout the upper belt OF pines
across Europe and Asia, from the Atlantic to
the Yenisei, but extends his wanderings
northward as far as latitude IL beyond the
ern and Western Europe and the British
Islands.
The blue backed thrush or field fare"
has range somewhat similar with the above
species. Asiatic individuals migrating in
winter to Cashmere, Turkistan and the north
western portion of India. The missel-thrush
breeds throughout Central Europe rang
ing eastward to the northwestern slopes
of the Himalayas. In such mild climate as
Great Britain offers he remains the year
round. but the majority of individuals
winter in Southern Europe, Persia
and North Africa. The song-thrush
is another paleartic form, breeding
eastward to the Yenlsei valley, and IN N9r-
has near relative inhabiting Northern and
western China, known as Pere David's
thrush, in honor OF GOOD monk who devoted
much time to the study of orthodoxy
There are two spotted breasted thrushes
restricted each to certain island, and found
nowhere else-the Anjuan thrush, inhabiting
one of the islands of the Comoro group lying
between Madagascar and the African coast.
and the st. Thomas thrush from the island
of that name in the Gulf of Guinea.
In the new world the nearatic or North
American region possesses several species OF
spotted breasted thrushes breeding through
out its forest area. Notable among these are
the wood thrush, whose mellow, ripping
music we know and love so well the hermit,
the olive-backed. the gray checked and
tawny housekeeping and fall migrants
passing through our woods III May anu Oc-
tober,
In contrast to the spotted-breasted species,
there are a number of thrushes, and among
them the robin, which are solidly colored
underneath, few spots being confined to
the throat, This difference in color-pattern
has undoubtedly arisen far back in the his
tory of the group from some environing In
fiuence. The young Of these ,solid-colored
thrushes are all spotted like the rest, and,
since the young Of all animals tend TO revert
toward ancestral forms and conditions, the
spotted breasted species may be looked upon
as representing the more primitive type OF
thrush. A further proof Of this is found In
the two spotted breasted thrushes inhabltlng
the islands above mentioned, which, from
their isolated habitat, are undoubtedly OF
considerable antiquity as species. Our
robin is the only representative OF the
thrushes with solid-colored breasts found in
North America, but host Of them occur in
South America and some In Africa.
The contrast between the Northern and
Southern continents Of the New World, or to
speak zoologically, between the nearatic and
neotropical regions in the number Of species
of thrush, has its solution in the popularity
and variety Of physical conditions offered by
South America. The ranges Of the species
irhabiting the great forests of the equatorial
zone are in the majority of instances re-
stricted to comparatively limited areas. The