wT 
BLUE OR METALLIC BLUE 50 
Or 
767. WESTERN BLUEBIRD. — Sialia mexicana 
occidentalis. 
Famity: The Thrushes, Solitaires, ete. 
Length: 6.50-7.12. 
Adult Male: Upper parts dark blue and brown; throat purplish blue ; 
breast bright chestnut ; under parts brown, “Wasted with purplish 
blue. 
Adult Female: Upper parts brownish gray; blue on rump and tail. 
Young: Gray, mottled and streaked with white, darkest on upper parts. 
Geographical Distribution: Transition zone of Pacifie coast from British 
Columbia south to New Mexico, east to Nevada. 
California Breeding Range: Local in upper Sonoran zone and through- 
out Transition zone. 
Breeding Season: April, May, and June. 
Nest: In old woodpecker holes or in cavities of pine trees, usually 
rather high. 
Eggs: 6; light blue. Size 0.81 x 0.67. 
In coloring, the Western Bluebird is the counterpart 
of the bluebird of the East, but he is much more shy, 
seldom coming close to houses or nesting near the homes 
of men. He is a resident throughout the foot-hills and 
lower mountains, coming down to the valleys in winter. 
I have found him oftenest along country roadsides or in 
the edge of the woods, and have seldom seen him within 
= p) 
the borders of a town even in the winter. This Blue- 
bird, like the mountain species, has the flycatcher habit 
of darting down from a perch for insects, and often 
hunting through the grass for them and flying back to 
the perch to eat. Crickets, moths, grasshoppers, cater- 
pillars, ants, and weevils form the large part of his diet, 
varied with fruits. 
His song is clear and mellow, — three notes repeated 
