298 A COURSE ON ZOOLOGY. 



flections, purple, green, and brown ; the jays are of many 

 colors, the blue jay being one of the most common. 



The blackbird family includes the orioles, one of the 

 most beautiful of which is the Baltimore oriole, rich 

 orange in color. Some of the blackbirds have beautiful red 

 wings. The meadow-larks are of this family, as is also the 

 bobolink, reed-bird, or rice-bird, as it is variously called. 



The wrens, chickadees, tits, wagtails, sparrows, and 



FIG. 253. 



GOLDFINCH (Carduelis elegans). 



finches are passeres, but of different families. They are 

 of various colors, usually sober, but some of the finches 

 are brightly tinted. The swallows and martins prefer 

 to build their nests under the eaves of houses, in chim- 

 neys, or in the crevices of walls. All the warblers, 

 honey-creepers, cat-birds, tanagers, and buntings are 

 passeres, and the order includes about half the known 

 birds. Most of the species are migratory, preferring 

 temperate climates, and flying northward in the spring, 

 again to return south on the approach of winter. 



