1652 THE PERCHING BIRDS 



The blue rock thrush (M. cyanus} is chiefly found in the countries 

 U Th h bordering the Mediterranean, and is a wild, shy bird of solitary dispo- 

 sition, resident in single pairs in rocky districts. Canon Tristram has 

 shown that this bird is the ' ' sparrow that sitteth alone upon the house top ' ' of the 

 Psalmist. Colonel Irby writes that " a pair nested in a hole outside the wall of my 

 stables at Gibraltar, in June 1869. Five eggs were laid, which were hatched about 

 the twentieth. The nest was of small dried roots, and was very scanty. When the 

 young were hatched, I broke through the wall from the inside of the stable to the 

 nest, making the hole largQ enough to admit a small cage, in which I placed the nest 

 and young; over the inside hole I then hung an old coat so as to shut out the light 

 from the inside, cutting a small slit in the coat, through which I used to watch the 

 old birds feeding their young within six inches. Both birds fed them at intervals of 

 not more than five minutes. The food consisted almost entirely of centipedes, with 

 now and then a large spider or bluebottle fly by way of change. Two of the five 

 young died in the cage, from the old birds not being able to get at them. Of the 

 other three, only one attained maturity, living till October. He was very tame, 

 and of most engaging habits and disposition, in fact what the Spaniards call ' simpa- 

 tico. ' In his younger days he was fed on soaked bread and bruised snails. ' ' The 

 blue thrush is a well-known bird at Rome, at Malta, and in many other European 

 resorts of tourists. Everywhere it frequents rocks, ruins, and old walls, pouring 

 forth its delicious music in solitary wastes. It is a favorite cage bird, and as such 

 commands high prices, but it is excessively delicate and difficult to keep. The adult 

 male is of a general dull blue above, the head and breast having a silvery gloss, 

 while the under parts of the body are dull blue.- The female differs from the mate, 

 in being grayish brown above, tinted with blue, and reddish buff on the lower parts. 

 Possessing a characteristic plumage of sky blue (associated with 

 chestnut in two instances), the bluebirds (Sialia) are easily distin- 

 guished from all other North- American birds. The bill is straight and compressed, 

 notched near the extremity; while the wings are pointed and much longer than the 

 tail, which is slightly forked; the feet being stout and short, and adapted for perch- 

 ing, and not for running, as in the chats. Bluebirds are peculiar to the American 

 continent, and have no nearly allied representatives in the Old World. No more 

 charming bird is to be found in the United States than the bluebird or blue robin 

 (Sialia sialis}, which breeds as far north as Southern Canada, and passes the winter 

 months in great numbers in the Southern United States. It is one of the first birds 

 to arrive in the States in spring, preceding the swallows and many other species; in- 

 deed, it is occasionally observed as early as January and February in its summer 

 home. The male is a cheery songster, and all his movements are characterized by 

 grace and energy. The nest is placed in the hollow of some tree; the eggs are pale 

 blue, and unspotted, and several broods are reared in a season. The bluebird is 

 often exported to Europe as a cage bird, and has often bred in confinement. Mr. 

 A. G. Butler gives the following account of some pet birds of this species: "My blue 

 robins made friends early in June, the cock bird giving every insect he got hold of 

 to the hen, to induce her to receive his attentions; the hen was very coy, and refused 

 his advances until about the end of the first fortnight; the pairing was a noisy affair, 



