THE BLUEBIRD. 245 



ing, and behold ! Bermuda follows close, 

 though the little pilgrim may be only repeat- 

 ing the tradition of his race, himself having 

 come only from Florida, the Carolinas, or 

 even from Virginia, where he has found his 

 Bermuda on some broad, sunny hill-side 

 thickly studded with cedars and persimmon 

 trees. 



In New York and in New England the 

 sap starts up in the sugar-maple the very 

 day the bluebird arrives, and sugar-making 

 begins forthwith. The bird is generally a 

 mere disembodied voice ; a rumor in the air 

 for two or three days before it takes visible 

 shape before you. The males are the pio- 

 neers, and come several days in advance of 

 the females. By the time both are here and 

 the pair have begun to prospect for a place 

 to nest, sugar-making is over, the last vestige 

 of snow has disappeared, and the plough is 

 brightening its mould-board in the new fur- 

 row. 



The bluebird enjoys the preeminence of 

 being the first bit of color that cheers our 

 northern landscape. The other birds that 

 arrive about the same time the sparrow, 

 the robin, the phoabe-bird are clad in 

 neutral tints, gray, brown, or russet; but 



