286 SINGING BIRDS. 



been supposed that our Bluebird, in the intervals of his absence, 

 passes the tedious and stormy time in a state of dormancy ; 

 but it is more probable that he flies to some sheltered glade, 

 some warm and more hospitable situation, to glean his frugal 

 fare from the berries of the cedar or the wintry fruits which 

 still remain ungathered in the swamps. Defended from the 

 severity of the cold, he now also, in all probability, roosts in 

 the hollows of decayed trees, — a situation which he generally 

 chooses for the site of his nest. In the South, at this cheer- 

 less season, Bluebirds are seen to feed on the glutinous berries 

 of the mistletoe, the green-brier, and the sumach. Content with 

 their various fare, and little affected by the extremes of heat 

 and cold, they breed and spend the summer from Labrador to 

 Natches, if not to Mexico, where great elevation produces the 

 most temperate and mild of climates. They are also abundant, 

 at this season, to the west of the Mississippi, in the territories 

 of the Missouri and Arkansas. 



In the Middle and Northern States the return of the Blue- 

 bird to his old haunts round the barn and the orchard is 

 hailed as the first agreeable presage of returning spring, and he 

 is no less a messenger of grateful tidings to the farmer, than 

 an agreeable, familiar, and useful companion to all. Though 

 sometimes he makes a still earlier flitting visit, from the 3d to 

 the middle of March he comes hither as a permanent resident, 

 and is now accompanied by his mate, who immediately visits the 

 box in the garden, or the hollow in the decayed orchard tree, 

 which has served as the cradle of preceding generations of his 

 kindred. Affection and jealousy, as in the contending and re- 

 lated Thrushes, have considerable influence over the Bluebird. 

 He seeks perpetually the company of his mate, caresses and 

 soothes her with his amorous song, to which she faintly replies ; 

 and, like the faithful Rook, seeks occasion to show his gallan- 

 try by feeding her with some favorite insect. If a rival make 

 his appearance, the attack is instantaneous, the intruder is 

 driven with angry chattering from the precincts he has chosen, 

 and he now returns to warble out his notes of triumph by the 

 side of his cherished consort. The business of preparing and 



