Mrs. Susan Martino's Pine Grove Manor School's first grade class in Somerset, N.J., for their question:

DOES THE ROBIN FLY SOUTH IN WINTER?

The American robin does indeed fly south for the winter. This bird is a member of the thrush family and is one of the most familiar dooryard birds of temperate North America.

Robins breed across North America from the New England states southward during the spring and stay to enjoy the summer. Then in the winter they fly from the Gulf states into Central America.

The robin is the traditional herald of spring when he returns to North America.

Robins build well formed open nests of straw and other fibers reinforced with mud in shrubs or trees from five to 30 feet up, and often in a sheltered recess of a building. The female lays four clear blue green eggs which take 12 to 14 days to hatch.

The male stands by the female and helps guard the nest and feed the young.