250 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



his family; he began coaxing them to his windowsill with mealworms, 

 of which they seemed to be very fond, and finally had them feeding 

 out of his hand. 



The reader is referred to an interesting study of the territorial, 

 nesting, and other behavior of the eastern bluebird by Ruth Harris 

 Thomas (1946), which is published in too much detail to be included 

 here. 



Voice. — The bluebird is no great singer; he cannot begin to compete 

 with the greater songsters of the famous thrush family; but his short 

 contralto notes of greeting, as we hear them early in spring, are most 

 welcome and pleasing to the ear, full of richness and sweetness, and 

 even expressing affection. He really does not need to sing; his 

 simplest notes are full of music and fully satisfy the hungry ears 

 of the listener. 



Aretas A. Saunders (MS.) has sent me the following full description 

 of the song: "The song of the bluebird is soft, sweet, rather short, 

 and warble-like. It consists of three to eight notes grouped in 

 phrases of one to three notes each, with very short pauses between 

 them. It is repeated every few seconds, and frequently two different 

 songs are alternated. In the latter case it often happens that one 

 song ends with a rising slur and the other with a descending one, so 

 that it gives the effect of a question and an answer: Ayo ala loeel 

 alee ay lalo leeo! 



"The song is never so loud as those of other thrushes. It varies 

 less in pitch and between individual birds. The range of pitch, from 

 24 records, is only 4% tones, from F ' ' ' to A ' '. Many individuals 

 vary only 2}4 tones or 3 tones in the entire song. Though the song 

 is comparatively simple, it is always pleasing, perhaps largely because 

 the soft tone and lack of very high-pitched notes prevent any shrillness. 



"Bluebirds sing from March to July or August. The song does not 

 always begin when the first migrants arrive. In 8 out of 29 years of 

 observation in Connecticut, bluebirds were singing when first noted 

 in arrival. In other years several days elapsed before song began. 

 The average arrival is March 10, but the average first song is March 

 18. The earliest date of beginning of song is March 3, 1923, and the 

 latest April 2, 1940. Since the bluebird is never very common in 

 the North and has periodical periods of scarcity, I often hear very 

 little song in summer. In only eight years have I heard the song in 

 Julv or August. In these years the average date of the last song is 

 July 26, the earliest July 11, 1926, and the latest August 11, 1932. 



"According to my observations, the male bluebird sings abundantly 

 during courtship and nest-building, following the female about as she 

 makes trips to and from the nest for nesting material. But as soon 

 as incubation begins, the song ceases abruptly and is not renewed 



