24'. 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



also chill and sides of upper throat), hghter and grayer 

 blue ; throat, chest, breast, sides, and flanks, uniform 

 dull cinnamon-chestnut ; abdomen, anal region, and 

 under tail-coverts, white, the last with longer feathers 

 tinged with pale grayish-blue, the shorter ones with 

 pale cinnamon-rufous; under wing-coverts, pale gray- 

 ish-blue; bill, black; iris, dark brown. AnuLT Fem.^le: 

 Above, bluish-gray tinged with light grayish-brown 

 (especially in autumn and winter), passing into bright 

 blue on rump, upper tail-coverts, and tail : wings, blue. 



the inner quills and innermost greater coverts edged 

 with pale brownish-gray or whitish, the outermost pri- 

 mary edged with white ; front and lateral under parts, 

 dull rufous-cinnamon (paler in summer, deeper in fresh 

 autumn plumage), the chin and upper throat paler; 

 abdomen, anal region, and under tail-coverts, white. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest : The natural nesting- 

 sites are in deserted Woodpecker holes, hollows of 

 decayed trees, or crevices of rocks ; it was one of the 

 first birds to take advantage of " modern conveniences " 

 and quickly appropriated boxes placed around the farm 

 houses for its occupancy ; hollows in old rail-fences 

 are often used and in some parts of New England a 

 large percentage of nests are so located; more rarely 

 the pair usurp a Swallow's nest; the nest is composed 

 of grass, weed stalks, a few bits of bark, and lined 

 with finer grass-blades. Eggs : 4 to 6, rarely 7 and 

 usually 5, plain light bluish-white in color. 



Distributicn. — United States and southern Canada 

 east of Rocky Mountains ; north to Nova Scotia, 

 southern New Brunswick, southern Maine, Vermont, 

 northern New York ( Adirondacks), northern Ontario 

 and Manitoba, occasionally to northern New Bruns- 

 wick, northern Maine and southern Quebec ; west to 

 eastern base of Rocky Mountains, in Montana, Wyo- 

 ming and Colorado; breeding southward to southern 

 Florida and along the Gulf Coast to southern and 

 west-central Te.xas ; Bermudas (resident); accidental 

 in Cuba. 



Photo by S. A. Lottndw 



NEST OF BLUEBIRD 



Section of tree cut away to show nest. The birds entered 

 through hole above 



I'his beatitiful and singtilarly lovable bird 

 divides with the Robin the grateftil mission of 

 bringing to its northern htiman friends the wel- 

 come news that spring is at hand. In the article 

 on the Robin, it is explained that many individ- 

 ttals of that species remain during the winter 

 months in northern latitudes of the United 

 States. Few Bluebirds do this ; and their appear- 

 ance in the spring is, therefore, much more sig- 

 nificant than is the Robin's. To be sin'e, the 

 Bluebird's migratory instinct occasionally gets 

 the better of his meteorological discretion, so 

 that his greeting to liis northern breeding 

 grotinds is sometimes a howling " north-easter," 

 bringing snow and freezing temperatures which 

 drive him back to the southland, or not infre- 

 quently cost him his Hfe. 



A real tragedy of this kind occurred in the 

 spring of 1895. when many species of migratory 

 birds, but especially the Bluebirds, were caught 

 in the wave of severely cold weather which swept 

 through the Middle and Gulf States. Thousands 

 of Bluebirds perished in the storms and bitter 

 cold which lasted for a week or more ; their 

 frozen bodies were found everywhere — in 

 barns and other outhouses where the poor things 

 had vainly sought shelter : in the fields and woods 

 and even along the roadsides. In the localities 



