As soon as the cherry-tree is in blossom, and when the oak and the maple are beginning to unfold their plaited leaves, the loud and mellow notes of the Golden Robin (Icterus Baltimore) are heard for the first time in the year.  I have never known the birds of this species to arrive before this date, and they seem to be governed by the supply of their insect food, which probably becomes abundant simultaneously with the flowering of the orchards.  These birds may from that time be observed diligently hunting among the branches and foliage of the trees, and they appear to make a particular examination of the blossoms, from which they obtain a great variety of flies and beetles that are lodged in them.  While thus employed, the bird frequently utters his brief, but loud and melodious notes; but he sings, like the Vireo, only while attending to the wants of life.  Almost all remarkable singing-birds, when warbling, give themselves up entirely to song, and pay no regard to other demands upon their time until they have concluded.  But the Golden Robin never relaxes from his industry, nor remains stationed upon the branch of a tree for the sole purpose of singing.  He sings, like an industrious maid-of-all-work, only while employed in the ordinary concerns of life.

The Golden Robin is said to inhabit North America from Canada to Mexico; but there is reason to believe that the species is most abundant in the north-eastern parts of the continent, and that a greater number breed in the New England States than either south or west of this section.  They are also more numerous in the suburbs of cities and towns than in the ruder and more primitive parts of the country.  Their peculiar manner of protecting their pensile nests, by hanging them from the extremities of the lofty branches of an elm or other tall tree, enables the bird to rear its young with great security, even in the heart of the city.  The only animals that are able to reach their nests are the smaller squirrels, which sometimes descend the long, slender branches upon which they are suspended, and devour the eggs.

This depredation I have never witnessed; but I have seen the Red Squirrel descend in this manner to devour the crysalis of a certain insect, which was rolled up in a leaf.

The ways and manners of the Golden Robin are very interesting.  He is remarkable for his vivacity, and his bright plumage renders all his movements conspicuous.  His plumage needs no description, since every one is familiar with its colors, as they are seen like flashes of fire among the trees.  The bird derives its specific name (Baltimore) from the resemblance of its colors to the livery of Lord Baltimore of Maryland.  The name of a bird ought to have either a sylvan or a poetic origin.  This has neither.  I prefer, therefore, the common and expressive name of Golden Robin.