EASTERN BLUEBIRD 259 



Winter range. — In winter the bluebird withdraws from the northern 

 part of its breeding range. The northern limit of wintering varies from 

 year to year according to the severity of the weather. The winter 

 range extends north to extreme southeastern Arizona (Fort Huachuca) ; 

 northern Sonora (Bavispee River) ; northern Coahuila (Sabinas) ; cen- 

 tral Texas (Fort Clark, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls); central 

 Oklahoma (Wichita Mountains and Tulsa) ; eastern Kansas (Wichita 

 and Topeka) ; eastern Nebraska (Fairbury and Omaha) ; western Iowa 

 (Sioux City) ; casually at Yankton, S. Dak.; Minneapolis and Duluth, 

 Minn. ; Madison, Wis. ; central Illinois (Knoxville and Rantoul, casually 

 to Rockford); southern Michigan, casually (Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, 

 and Detroit) ; northern Ohio (Oberlin and Akron) ; southern West 

 Virginia (Charleston and Bluefield) ; southern Virginia (Lynchburg) ; 

 Maryland (Washington, D. C, and Cambridge); southeastern Penn- 

 sylvania (Philadelphia); southern New York (Shelter Island, Long 

 Island, and Rhinebeck, casually); and casually to southern Massa- 

 chusetts (Northampton, Taunton, and Cape Cod). 



The eastern bluebird has extended its range westward within a 

 generation or two. At Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, in 1884 it was 

 referred to as a "recent arrival." In 1909 Macoun did not mention 

 any occurrence of this species in Saskatchewan; in 1922 it was found 

 breeding in the Cypress Hills of southwestern Saskatchewan. 



The bluebird apparently is casual in winter in Cuba; a specimen was 

 collected in April 1860 and a flock of seven seen near Habana on 

 February 24, 1917. 



The foregoing range applies to the whole species, which has been 

 divided into several subspecies or geographic races. The eastern 

 bluebird (Sialia s. sialis) occupies the range east of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains except southern Florida and southern Texas; the Florida bluebird 

 (S. $. grata) is found in the southern half of Florida, the Tamaulipas 

 bluebird (S. s. episcopus) is found in northeastern Mexico and the 

 lower Rio Grande Valley in Texas; the azure bluebird (S. s. julva) 

 occurs from southeastern Arizona south in the tableland of Mexico at 

 least as far as Jalisco. Other races occur south of the United States. 



Migration. — Some early dates of spring arrival are: New York — 

 Syracuse, February 27. Vermont — Rutland, March 6. Maine — 

 Waterville, March 12. Massachusetts — Wilmington, February 22. 

 Quebec — Montreal, March 12. New Brunswick — Scotch Lake, 

 March 19. Prince Edward Island — Alberton, March 25. Ontario — 

 Toronto, March 18. Illinois — Chicago, February 28. Michigan — 

 Grand Rapids, February 18. Minnesota — Minneapolis, March 6. 

 South Dakota — Dell Rapids, March 21. North Dakota — Fargo, 



