A young robin with brown and black plumage stands on a concrete pavement surrounded by grass and small plants; a clear plastic lid with residue is nearby. 9:06
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Young robin supervises the worm digging

A man works dry topsoil with a hand trowel while a young robin stands close and watches every scoop. Whatever the trowel turns up, the robin eats. more

The robin is still a youngster, brown and black with a speckled breast. He stands on the bare dirt by the plants, right where the man is working. The man calls this outing "worm excursion number two."

A small bird with a speckled breast and a dark head stands on dirt ground near green plants. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
The young robin stands on the bare dirt, waiting on the next find.

The man does the heavy work, sifting the loose soil bit by bit. The robin chitters around him and peers at each fresh patch, as if helping to spot the grubs. At one point the man has to warn him, "Look out, get out of the hole," before he digs a little deeper.

Every time a worm turns up, it doesn't last long. The robin gobbles it down fast and turns straight back to the dirt for the next one. It looks a lot like a small boss checking on the work crew.

A young robin with brown and black plumage stands on a concrete pavement surrounded by grass and small plants; a clear plastic lid with residue is nearby. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
A man works dry topsoil with a hand trowel while a young robin stands close and watches every scoop.

The man talks to him the whole time, and the bird seems to be listening. More than one person watching has noticed it. Later the trowel turns up a grub. "Look at that tasty meal," the man says.

Then the robin gets in on the digging himself, poking into the loose soil among the plants and roots. Whether he is helping or just checking that nothing was missed is hard to say.

A bird with a speckled breast digs in loose soil near green plants and roots. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Before long the robin pokes into the loose soil himself, right among the roots.

When the digging is done, the man heads back up to the patio. "Come on, birdie," he calls, and the robin follows him there. Water is waiting so he can "wash down the worms and grubs."

The man is already planning the next meal, in about 20 minutes. First the robin cleans off his dirty beak and gets his feet wet. Then comes a plain goodbye: "Bye, bird."