246 THE BLUEBIRD. 



the bluebird brings one of the primary hues 

 and the divinest of them all. 



This bird also has the distinction of an- 

 swering very nearly to the robin redbreast 

 of English memory, and was by the early 

 settlers of New England christened the blue- 

 robin. 



It is a size or two larger, and the ruddy 

 hue of its breast does not verge so nearly on 

 an orange, but the manners and habits of 

 the two birds are very much alike. Our 

 bird has the softest voice, but the English 

 redbreast is much the most skilled musician. 

 He has indeed a fine, animated warble, 

 heard nearly the year through about Eng- 

 lish gardens and along the old hedge-rows, 

 that is quite beyond the compass of our 

 bird's instrument. On the other hand, our 

 bird is associated with the spring as the 

 British species cannot be, being a winter 

 resident also, while the brighter sun and sky 

 of the New World has given him a coat 

 that far surpasses that of his transatlantic 

 cousin. 



It is worthy of remark that among British 

 birds there is no blue bird. The cerulean 

 tint seems much rarer among the feathered 

 tribes there than here. On this continent 



