PASSERES SYLVIADjE SIALIA. 65 



GENUS SIALIA. Swainson. 



Bill short, nearly straight, subulate, wider than high at the base, cleft nearly to the eyes, 

 furnished with bristly feathers at the base. Upper mandible carinated, somewhat abruptly 

 curved, and convex at the tip, where it is distinctly notched. Nostrils basal, partly closed 

 by a membrane. Tongue cartilaginous, with the point slit. Tarsus shorter than the 

 middle toe and claw ; its lower scutella only distinct. Hind nail stoutest, arcuated, shorter 

 than the toe. Wings rather long, pointed : second and third quills longest. 



THE BLUEBIRD. 



SlALIA WILSONI. 



PLATE LXIV. FIG. 98 



(STATE COLLECTION. Male and femaxe.) 



Matacilla sialis. Linnjeus, Syst. Nat. p. 336. 



The Bluebird. Wilson, Am. Orn. Vol. 1, p. 56, pi. 3, fig. 3 (adult male). 



Saxicola sialis. Bonaparte, Ann. Lye. N. Y. Vol. 2, p. 89. 



Sylvia sialis. Audubon, fol. pi. 113 ; Orn. Biog. Vol. 2, p. 84, and Vol. 5. p. 452. 



Sialia wilsoni. Swainson, Zool. Journal, Vol.3, p. 173. 



Ampelis sialis. Nuttall, Manual Orn. Vol.1, p. 444, figure. 



Erythraca ( Sialia) wilsoni. Richardson, F. B. A. Vol.2, p. 210. 



Sialia wilsoni. Aodubon, B. of A. Vol. 2, p. 171, pi. 134 (male, female and young). 



Bluebird, S. wilsoni. Giraud, Birds of Long island, p. 81. 



Characteristics. Blue. Beneath bright reddish; belly and vent white. Young, dusky 

 spotted with white. Length, 7 inches. 



Description. Wings full and broad. Eyes large. Tail long, broad, slightly emarginate, 

 even ; its feathers broad and rounded. Plumage slightly glossy. 



Color. Above a rich azure blue ; the inner vanes of the quills, and their shafts, dusky ; 

 the outer blue. Throat and upper part of the breast bright reddish brown. Belly and vent 

 white. Bill and legs black. Inside of mouth and soles of the feet yellow. Iris golden. 

 Female : Head and back, excepting the wings, dull leaden, with faint tints of blue. Young, 

 brownish above ; beneath greyish, tinged with brown. 



Length, 6-5-7-0. Alar extent, 9-5- 10-0. 



The Bluebird, or Blue Robin as it is often called in the western counties, resembles very 

 much in its manners and habits the Saxicola rubicola, or Robin Redbreast of Europe, and is 

 hailed with us as the first harbinger of spring. A few individuals contrive, by seeking out 

 some warm sunny spot, to linger out the winter with us ; but this is a rare occurrence. They 

 appear in the southern counties about the middle of March, and sometimes even earlier. In 

 [Fauna — Part 2.) 9 



