THE MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. 259 



fast to tlie ai)ple-ti"ees or lodged at considerable inlervals along the intersecting 

 fences. The experimenter finds that more than half nt the boxes are occnpied 

 each season, and he counts the birds of inestimable \alne in helping to save the 

 grapes and apples from the ravages of worms. 



In pro\ iding fur liluebird's comfort, care must be taken to expel cats 

 from the i)remises : or at least to place the box in an inaccessible position. 

 English Sparrows, also, must be shot at sight, for the Bltiebird, however 

 valorous, is no match for a mob. Tree Swallows or Violet-greens may covet 

 the nesting-bo.x — your affections are sure to be divided when these last appear 

 upon the scene — but the Bluebirds can take care of themselves here. For the 

 rest, do not make the bo.x too nice; and above all, do not make it of new lum- 

 ber. Nesting birds do not care to be the observed of all observers, and the 

 more natural their surroundings, the more at ease your tenants will be. An 

 occasional inspection will not be resented, if the Bluebirds know their landlord 

 well. There may be some untoward condition to correct, — an overcrowded 

 nestling, or the like. At the end of the season the box should be emptied, 

 cleaned, and if possible sterilized. 



Two broods are raised in a season, and the species ap])ears to be on the 

 increase in the more thickly settled portion of the State. Occidcntalis avoids 

 the dry sections, and is nowhere common im the east side of the nmimtains, 

 save during migrations. It is, however, regularly found on the timbered 

 slopes of the Cascades, the Kalispell Range, and the Blue Mountains, where its 

 range inosculates with that of the Mountain Bluebird. There is reason to sup- 

 pose that its range will extend with the increase of irrigated territory. West of 

 the mountains. ])er contra, the Bluebird affects the more open coimtry, and es- 

 pecialh' that which has been prepared by fire and the donble-bilted axe. 



No. T02. 

 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. 



.\. O. U. No. 76S. Sialia curnicoides ( r>cch stein). 



Synonym. — .\rctic Ri.tKniun. 



Description. — Adult male in siiiinncr: .\l)Ovc rich oerulean blue, palest 

 (turquoise blue) on forehead, brightest on upjicr tail-coverts, darkest fscvres 

 blue) on lesser wing-covcrts : below pale blue (deepest turquoise) on cliest. shading 

 on sides of head and neck to color of back, paling on lower belly, crissum and 

 under tail-coverts to whitish : cxj)osed tips of flight feathers dusky. I'ill and feet 

 ])Iack: iris dark brown. .Uiiilf male in winter: Blue somewhat duller and featliers 

 skirted more or less with brownish aliovc and below, notalilv on hind-neck, upper 

 back, lircast and sides. .Idiilt female: T-ike male but paler blue, clear on rump. 

 fail and wings only, elsewhere quenched in gray: pileuin, hindneck. back and 



