4. Watch the robin as it moves along the grass and learn how it finds out where the worms are.
To the teacher.—The pupils should be given a few days in which to find out answers to these questions, and at the end of that time the answers should be discussed in the class.
Male robins have more pronounced colours than female robins. The beak is yellower, the breast is brighter, the back and the top of the head are darker. Robins both run and hop. The sense of sight of the robin is very acute, but its sense of hearing is even more keen. The bird may be observed turning its head to one side to listen for the sound of a worm which is still inside its burrow.
II
A second set of exercises may now be assigned which will demand a more detailed study of the bird, namely, a study of the size, colour, form of body, manner of flight, and length of beak.
III
THE NEST, EGGS, AND YOUNG
1. Find out various places in which robins build their nests. In what ways are these places all alike? Examine the materials of the nest and find out why the nests are built in the kind of places in which they are found.
2. Describe the eggs.
3. What kinds of food do the parent birds bring to the young? Does the father bird aid in bringing food to the young?