258 BULLETIN 196, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



death or died of hunger and thirst, and the nesting of the bluebird in 

 the hill section certainly fell away considerably." He believes that 

 the breeding birds of that area remain and mingle with the migrants 

 from the north, rather than migrating farther south. 



When all the vicissitudes with which bluebirds have to contend 

 are considered, it is not strange that there seem to be no records of 

 great longevity. Mrs. Laskey says in her notes: "So far none of my 

 banded nestlings have been found after three years. The high rate 

 of mortality through predation is doubtless the main factor in this 

 prevailing short life span. The oldest bluebird of record in the Parks 

 group is an adult female, banded in May 1938 and nesting there each 

 year. Her latest capture was in April 1942, when she was at least 

 four years old. Another female, banded at my home as an adult in 

 April 1936, was retrapped each year until November 4, 1939, when 

 she was at least in her fifth year of age." 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — North America east of the Rocky Mountains from southern 

 Canada to El Salvador and Honduras. 



Breeding range. — The eastern bluebird breeds north to southern 

 Saskatchewan (Eastend, Lake Johnston, Indian Head, and Hudson 

 Bay Junction); southern Manitoba (Aweme, Lake St. Martin, and 

 Winnipeg); southern Ontario (Emo, Port Arthur, Rossport, Lake 

 Abitibi, and Ottawa; casually to Moose Factory); and southern 

 Quebec (Blue Sea Lake, Quebec, Kamouraska, Point de Monts, and 

 Havre St. Pierre). East to eastern Quebec (Havre St. Pierre and 

 Anticosti Island); Prince Edward Island (Alberton); Nova Scotia 

 (Halifax) , and the Atlantic Coast States to southern Florida (Jackson- 

 ville, Miami, and Royal Palm Park). South to southern Florida 

 (Royal Palm Park and Deep Lake); the Gulf coast of the United 

 States; Veracruz (Jalapa); Guatemala (Panajachel) ; Honduras (San 

 Juancita) , and El Salvador (Mount Cacaguatique) . West to El Salva- 

 dor (Mount Cacaguatique and La Reina), Guatemala (Antigua and 

 Duenas) ; Oaxaca (Cerro San Felipe) ; Jalisco (La Laguna) ; Sinaloa 

 (Plomosas) ; extreme southeastern Arizona (Sierra del Parajarita and 

 Santa Rita Mountains); central Texas (Kerrville, San Angelo, and 

 Wichita Falls) ; central Oklahoma (Wichita Mountains and Fort Reno) ; 

 western Kansas (Garden); extreme eastern Colorado (Holly; occa- 

 sionally Denver; has occurred at Pueblo and in Estes Park); south- 

 eastern Wyoming (Cheyenne and Laramie, possibly Newcastle) ; rarely 

 to central Montana (Billings and Great Falls); and southwestern 

 Saskatchewan (Eastend) . The eastern bluebird is also resident in the 

 Bermudas but is more numerous in winter. 



