52 Sketches of Some Common Birds. 



loss of inspiration to musical expression when their homes 

 are fixed. With the beginning of the nesting season their 

 warbling becomes less frequent, and is executed in a more 

 subdued, deeper note of tenderness, being seldom heard 

 except at early morning or late in the day. 



The nesting habits of the bluebirds are matters of com- 

 mon knowledge. They formerly, with the purple martins 

 and the house wrens, inhabited apartments in the boxes 

 in the garden. Frequently the martins retained one side 

 or story of the box, and the bluebirds occupied another 

 division. The conflict with the English sparrows, how- 

 ever, proved so sharp that our gentle bluebirds, who are 

 seen to have courage and endurance when they wish to 

 display it, saw fit to withdraw from the unpleasant dis- 

 pute. Now they content themselves with the cavities in 

 decayed fence-posts and other sites farther from our towns 

 and dwellings. While the martins and bluebirds did not 

 live in uninterrupted peace, both were indigenous to the 

 locality, and the balance had been adjusted between them, 

 so that their petty quarrels never became a severe struggle 

 for survival. 



The nest is composed of dried grass. It is lined wuth 

 hairs and feathers, and is constructed with varying de- 

 grees of compactness. The eggs number from four to six, 

 and are of a uniform pale blue color. Sometimes pale 

 white eggs of the species are found. Davie gives the 

 average size of the eggs as .84 by .62 of an inch. 



When we consider the strong maternal instinct of the 

 bluebird, we have a partial explanation of the abrupt 

 termination of its former habit of song. Its jealous care 

 and deep-rooted love for its mate and home lead it to re- 

 frain from any utterances which would reveal the secret 

 it chooses to button so closely under its ruddy cinnamon 

 vest. And yet how frankly and confidingly it nests in 

 the most open cavity in a post or stake, obviously con- 

 spicuous to the eyes of observant passers-by! This open- 

 ness and confidence have led to its utter sorrow, for few 

 birds suffer the disasters which overtook the nests of the 

 bluebird in the days when it was commoner than at 

 present. It seems, however, that it has been wisely 

 taught by its bitter experiences. Now it retires farther 



