14 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 
1B EB 
THE BLUEBIRD. 
As you stroll through the meadows on a May 
morning, drinking in the spring air and sunshine, 
and delighting in the color of the dandelions and 
the big bunches of blue violets that dot the grass, 
a bird call comes quavering overhead that seems 
the voice of all country loveliness. Simple, sweet, 
and fresh as the spirit of the meadows, with a 
tinge of forest richness in the plaintive tru-al-ly 
that marks the rhythm of our bluebird’s undulat- 
ing flight, wherever the song is heard, from city 
street or bird-box, it must bring pictures of flower- 
ing fields, blue skies, and the freedom of the 
wandering summer winds. 
Look at the bluebird now as he goes over your 
head — note the cinnamon of his breast; and as 
he flies down and turns quickly to light on the 
fence post, see the cobalt-blue that flashes from 
his back. These colors are the poet’s signs that 
the bird’s sponsors are the “ earth and sky.” And 
the little creature has a wavering way of lifting 
its wings when perching, as if hesitating between 
earth and sky, that may well carry out the poet’s 
hint of his wild ethereal spirit. 
Notice the bluebird’s place in literature. The 
robin, with his cheerful soprano call, serves as the 
emblem of domestic peace and homely cheer; but 
