508 LAND BIRDS 
given is in the fresh state, not regurgitated. Crickets, 
grasshoppers, beetles, butterflies, and worms are their 
menu, with a few berries. The young Bluebirds double 
in weight every twenty-four hours for the first week, and 
in twelve days are growing a respectable crop of feathers, 
though the bare skin is still distressingly visible. Their 
breasts gradually take on the soft, mottled light and 
dark, and the upper parts have a hint of blue among the 
grayish brown on the wings and tail. One would sup- 
pose this blue on the upper parts would be too conspic- 
uous, but when the youngsters leave the nest and perch 
on the soft gray of the dead trees, they become almost 
invisible in the strong sunlight. 
YELLOW OR ORANGE CONSPICUOUS IN PLUMAGE 
497, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. 
AN anthocephal us vanth ocephalus. 
Famity: The Blackbirds, Orioles, ete. 
Length : Male 8.60-10.10 ; Female 7.50-8.30. 
Adult Male in Summer: Plumage uniform black, except yellow or 
orange head, neck, and chest, and white patch on wings. 
Adult Male in Winter: Similar, but yellow feathers on top of head 
tipped with brown. 
Adult Female: Dark grayish brown, throat and chest dull yellow ; 
breast mixed with white. 
Young Male in First Winter: Similar to female, but larger, and deeper 
colored. 
Young: (Nestling) General color pinkish brown; upper parts indis- 
tinctly streaked with lighter beneath ; wings and tail blackish. 
Geographical Distribution ; Western North America from British Colum- 
hia south to Mexican table-lands ; east to Wisconsin, Indiana, and 
Texas. 
California Breeding Range: Interior valleys, east of the humid coast 
belt. 
’ A esi tt reg i. asia 
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EOC 
