The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1941-09-18
The Member Of the Thrush Family. -
Robin Redbreust Is Populor Bird
All Over United States and Cunudu

1 4
thrushes. But students of anatomy,
who have gift for studying feath-
ers, dissecting muscles, and meas
uring bones, long ago agreed that
in many cases birds of quite different
sizes and colors may in reality be
very closely related.
Furthermore, if it is true that
from the embryo to the adult stage
an animal recapitulates the history
of its race, we may feel ourselves
to be witnesses of one stage in
the robins evolution when we see
| the young ones just out of the nest
with their breasts spotted in the
fashion that distinguishes the thrush.
This characteristic of the young
is shared by another cherished bird
companion - the bluebird - which
also is a member of the illustrious
and musical family of thrushes.
The English people who first set
tied in Massachusetts found coming
about their gardens little bird
which in size, form, and move
ments reminded them of the "Cock
Robin" that the sparrow claimed to
have killed with his bow and arrow.
There was one very noticeable diff
ference, however. Whereas the
English robin has an olive-brown
back, this bird wore a mantle of
blue. So the newcomers named it
"blue robin" Today we call it
bluebird.
The robins scientific title is ''Tur-
dus migratorius. This red-breasted,
handsome member of the thrush
family is in many respects Amer
ica's outstanding bird citizen. It's
numbers are impressive, its per-
sonality more so. To the North it
comes as herald of spring and its
CHEEKY song is familiar to millions.
Robin Population Grows Rapidly.
Deep woods are not to the robins
liking, so the clearing of forests
which formerly covered much of
eastern North America has been to
its advantage. Throughout the years
this native bird has greatly in
creased in numbers.
To be sure, cherry raisers in New
Jersey and strawberry growers in
Florida cry out against the robins
love for fruit, and secure state and
federal permits to shoot the maraud-
ers. Yet among Americans as a
whole the robin is cherished friend
and its popularity has never waned.
The robins song is often heard be-
fore a rain, in the early morning
and evening, and during the nesting
season at almost any hour of the
day. A cheerful warble made up of
ascending and descending phrases,
it sounds as if the singer were
breathlessly repeating "cheerily
cheerily cheerily cheerily," with the
syllables rather badly slurred. 9th
er familiar utteranoes include loud
calls of distress and alarm raised
when a prowling cat threatens the
young, a fighting cry, and "tut-
tut" note delivered with bob of the
tail as the robin flies up into tree.
Soon after their early morning
concert, robins are seen on the
lawn, busily hunting earthworms.
Brisk and businesslike, they stop
suddenly, erect and motionless,
then pounce upon their slippery
prey. They also eat quantities of
noxious insects.
Builds Good Nest of Mud and Grass.
A good home-maker, the robin
builds workmanlike nest which
may be found at almost any distance
from the ground about houses or in
trees. 1t is thick bowl of mud
held together with blades of grass,
reinforced with leaves and weed
stalks, and lined with soft grasses.
In shaping the mud shell the moth
er bird uses her breast, turning
around and around. The eggs are
so striking and unusual in hue that
they have given their name to a
color.
The robin has many natural
enemies - snakes, jays, crows,
hawks, owls, and others. In an as
pen grove on a sagebrush-covered
mountainside in Utah was found a
robins nest about three feet from
: the ground. In it wren was busy
ing itself making small punctures
in the blue eggs.
Robins make their nests and rear
their young as far north as the tree
limits of Alaska and Labrador.
Five varieties are recognized-the
eastern robin, southern robin, north
: western robin, western robin, and
San Lucas robin. Their songs are
very similar and their food and nest
ing habits vary only to the extent
that might naturally be expected OF
a species inhabiting such a wide
variety of regions.
American robins have been intro
) duced into England and have be-
: come locally established there.