Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-11

make the following suggestions for the
study Of the robin:
Begin your. study Of the nest az soon -
possible after the birds have begun to build q,
q tree, on part of q dwelling or other build
Ing, on the ground, in a hole in a tree. for
robins. select very queer sites sometimes.
Notice its height from the ground. and II
In. Find out II both the male and the fe-
male assist in the building. and whether
they divide the work about evenly, or II one
does more than the other. II the latter Is
the case. which bird works the harderY
Notice the kind Of material used in the
making Of the nest and describe the pro-
cess as nearly as you can: II you are an
early riser, find out exactly at what tine
the first bit Of building material is brought
to the nest in the morning, and at what
time the last bit is brought at night see
how long 1t Is before the nest Is completed,
and notice whether the female lays her nrst
egg at once, or whether she waits a day or
two. and. If SO, how long she waits. Does
the bird begin to sit as soon as the nrse
egg is laid, or does 1T walt until she mas iaio
the whole set? Does she lay one each DAY
until all are laid, or does she lay one every
other day? How many eggs are there In
the full set? Are they all the same size and
the eggs. or do they take turns? Which
sits at night7 Which in the daytime? How
many days does it take for the eggs 10
hatch? DO they all hatch at oncef Are
there any winch 90 not HatCH dt ans ~
both parents begin to feed the young at
once or does one go away for food whiie
the other remains to protect the little onesf
Which one remains? Watch and make
notes on the development of the young at
least once a day. How many days elapse
between the date of Matching and the date
on which the young birds leave the mes.
Do all those which were hatched live 10
accident happened to any of them after
they left the nest? Try to find out no"
long the young are fed by their parents
after leaving the nest.
Under Different Circumstances.
Also make as many notes as possible on
the actions of the birds under different
circumstances. What do they do when 1t
rains? What do they do when 1t is very
hot? How do they act when an enemy,
cat or snake or squirrel, approaches
the nest? Be sure to put down all the
dates, and notice whether the parents nave
a second brood: if SO. notice If the second
nest is as well made as the first. F1nd out
If there is a robins roost' anywhere near
your home, where during the summer ana
fall hundreds or thousands Of ROBINS come
in from all points of the compass to spend
the night Try to find out the number OF
birds which spend the night at the roost,
and whether the number varies from week
to week. Try to find out II these BIRDS are
all males, all females, all young birds, or
whether the flock is composed or some Oh
each.
Mark the dates at which you first begin
to see robins gathering in fiocks before
their journey south, and mark the date on
which you see the last robin in your local-
ty. If the robin winters with you, make
notes on the number seen during the cold
weather. In the spring, mark the dates OF
the early arrivals, and note whether the
birds are in song or not. Later, watch the
actions of the birds during the period of
courtship. "
or course, very few of the members will
be able to make all the notes l have sus-
pested. but they should make as many OF
them az they can, but If they make ever
go few, let those few be accurate. accurate
accurate.
ERNEST HAROLD BAYNES.