The Red Robin Returns

Those baby robins sure look hungry!

Oh, there's Mommy, now!

I have a few more ROBIN things to share today. First, The Birth of a Bird, comes from the May 5, 1952 edition of LIFE Magazine:

You can download a pdf of it HERE for FREE!

 Next, I have complied several Robin - themed poems in a printable booklet. You can download this HERE for FREE! -- Instructions for assembling are on last page.

And this, from Homeschool Bits - a FREEBIE available HERE.It has a nice little printable booklet about ROBINS. Great for younger students.

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FLASHBACK from American Primary Teacher - 1902:

NATURE STUDY.

The Robin.

BY EDITH A. ROBERTSON, NEW YORK CITY.

 

Material. A picture of the robin, blackboard drawing. A robin's nest and eggs.

Introduction. Where have the birds been all winter? Have all the birds come back? What birds have come? What are the first to arrive? What do they tell us?

Development. Our American robin must not be confounded with the English robin redbreast, although both bear the same name. It is the latter bird in whose praise so much has been written. The  American robin belongs to the Thrush family.

Migration. The robin is one of the earliest heralds of spring, coming as early as March, and is one of the latest birds to leave in the autumn, many times remaining all winter. Robins migrate singly or in flocks.

Length—about ten inches.

Head—nearly all black.

Eye—round, brown with a white ring around it.

Bill—medium length; curved; strong and yellow.

Throat—streaked with black and white.

Breast—chestnut or rusty red. The breast is brightest in the spring.

Back—dark olive gray.

Wings—brown.

Tail—black, a little rounded; outer feathers edged with white.

Legs—slender; black.

Claws—black, slender for perching.

Have children notice whether the robin hops or runs.

The Nest. It is sometimes built in the corner of a porch, but oftener it is placed upon the horizontal limb of an orchard tree. It is so large and poorly concealed that any boy can find it, yet it is seldom molested.

The masonry of the nest is rough and the material coarse, being composed of moss, dead leaves, old grass, lined with hair, and cemented with mud.

The Eggs. The eggs number four to six, and are greenish blue in color, commonly spoken of as ''robin egg blue."

Food. The robin feeds for a month or two on' strawberries and cherries, but generally on worms and insects picked out of the ground.

Song. The robin is not one of our most charming songsters, yet its carol is sweet, hearty, and melodious. Its principal song is in the morning before sunrise, when it mounts the top of some tall tree, and with its wonderful power of song, announces the coming of day.

When trained, it imitates the sounds of various birds.

In early spring the robin may be heard at noon or in the afternoon; in summer, early in the mornings.

Robin is "the bird of the morning."

Habits. The robin is hardy, noisy, frolicsome, neighborly, and domestic in his habits; strong of wing and bold in spirit. The robin courts the" society of man, following close upon the plow and the spade, often becoming quite tame.

It destroys the larvae of many insects in the soil.

The Young. The young robins stay in the nest till about eleven days old. From early morning till nearly dark the parent birds keep up a constant search for worms. The worms are beaten up to a pulp by the parent birds before fed to the young. The old birds only leave their little ones to eat and bathe.

QUESTIONS FOR DRILL.

What bird comes back in April?

How long will the robin stay?

What is the color of robin's breast?

When is robin's breast the brightest?

What is the color of robin's back?

Does robin run or hop?

What does robin eat?

Where does he build his nest?

Of what is the nest made?

How many eggs in the nest?

What is the color of the eggs?

How long do the young robins stay in the nest?

Who feeds them?

READING LESSON FOR THE BLACKBOARD.

Here is Robin.

He has a pretty red breast.

Robin is very happy. He is singing in the apple tree.

Mr. and Mrs. Robin built the nest.

It is made of leaves, grass, hair, and mud.

The nest is big and strong.

It holds five little eggs.

By and by there will be five baby robins.

Mr. and Mrs. Robin will be busy.

They will feed the little ones.

They will teach them to fly.

Then the little ones will say good-bye and fly, fly, far away.

Poems—"Sir Robin," Lucy Larcom; "The Origin of the Robin," Whittier.

Story for Reproduction—“How the Robin Got His Red Breast." Cooke's Myths.