TURDIDAE—ROBIN.
81
frequently deceive me. There is every year a nest of Starlings close by."
Mr. W. Pamplin,
of Whip's Cross
Nursery, records
(29) having found
a Robin's nest con-
taining five eggs,
in the bottom of a
haystack there on
Nov. 12th, 1884.
" S. E. W." writ-
ing from Black-
more on April
22nd, 1867, says
(Essex Chron.):—
" The Robin
Redbreasts have
again this year put
in an appearance
in Blackmore
Church. At the
present time the

happy little couple

ROBIN, 1/3.
have built their
nest and deposited six eggs therein, in the reading-desk, underneath the Bible,
notwithstanding the repeated attempts to prevent them from doing so, the sexton's
wife having pulled the nest to pieces several
times. Some few years ago, no doubt, you
will remember a similar occurrence. The
eggs were then hatched, which will probably
be the case again."
Pure white eggs are by no means uncom-
mon, especially late in the summer. In 1876,
two nests containing such eggs were taken
about the premises here, and on June 22nd,
1877, I took a nest with two pure white and
two very slightly spotted eggs on a bank about
half a mile away. On July 12th following I
found two more white eggs in a nest not far
from the first. One nest containing white eggs
was recently recorded as that of a Black Red-

robin, young, 1/4.
start (q.v.). In 1876, a nest was constructed on
the top of a clock in the parlour of a dwelling-house at Stanford Rivers, access being
obtained by the door and window. The nest was unfortunately destroyed (34).
Mr. Sackett writes : " During the winter, a year or two back, a Robin became very
tame. He entered my bedroom every day by the open window and fought him-
self in the looking-glass." Swainson, alluding to the common belief that it is un-
lucky to destroy a Robin's nest, quotes the following as an Essex saying (48. 16) :—
" The Robin and the Redbreast,
The Robin and the Wren,
If ye take out of their nest,
Ye'll never thrive again.