“In the sunshine and the rain
I hear the robin in the lane
Singing. ‘Cheerily,
Cheer up, cheer up;
Cheerily, Cheerily, Cheerily, Cheer up’.”
A writer in “A Masque of Poets” has described the cheer in the Robin’s song very well. Robin music has real melody and expression. Indeed, there are very few of our birds that have what might be called as great a vocabulary, or as many expressive notes, as has this familiar bird.
Nest: The nest of the Robin is built of grasses, rootlets and leaves. The interior is well lined or plastered with a layer of mud. Another layer of fine grass forms the bed upon which the greenish blue eggs are laid. These eggs are from three to five in number. Robins often raise two families each year. The young of the first brood leave the nest toward the first of July.
Food: In June and July, Robins feed to some extent upon berries and similar fruits. However, what little harm they may do in this way is vastly offset by the good that is done during the rest of the year. The Robins are gleaners of insects. They eat great quantities of beetles and their grubs, grasshoppers, crickets, ants and other plant pests. One of the most comical sights of bird feeding is to see a large, round, healthy Robin struggle to pull a resisting, equally healthy, earthworm from its hole in the ground. Often, the worm breaks in two and the Robin, suddenly and most unexpectedly, tumbles over backward. The Robin seems to “Listen” for the worm as he walks and hops over the lawn in the early morning.
Song: The song of the Robin in early Spring tells us that warm weather is not far off. We look for his brick red breast and watch him as he feeds about our lawns and gardens.