332 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The spring migration is accomplished between the 3d and the 17th of May, 

 and the fall migration between the 25th of September and the 15th of 

 October. 



Haunts and habits. The Indigo bird prefers brushy hillsides, " slash- 

 ings " and bushy gardens, being a member of the same gild as the Thrasher, 

 Chewink and Field sparrow. Throughout the hot, dry summer his song 

 may be heard from the hillside thickets and edges of the woodlands. The 

 nest is usually placed in a bramble or bush at a height of 2 to 4 feet from 

 the ground, composed externally of dry leaves, weed stalks and strips of 

 bark, and lined with finer grasses, rootlets and long hairs. The eggs are 

 usually 4 in number, broadly ovate in shape, pale bluish white in color; 

 average size .74 by .55 inches. The first sets of eggs are usually found 

 between May 25 and June 12, but frequently nests with fresh eggs may be 

 seen as late as July 15 or even the first of August. 



The Indigo bird is one of our most persistent singers and his pleasing 



song may be heard from the time of his arrival in May till well into the 



month of August. He usually chooses an elevated, though not exposed, 



position while singing; and it is often quite difficult to discover the singer 



hidden among the foliage near the top of some tree which overlooks his 



chosen brush lot. The song has a fringilline character, a pleasant, chip- 



pering warble, not rich and full in quality like the Purple finch's, but 



blithe and gay. Though rather definite in form of delivery, it never makes 



a definite impression upon my mind so that I remember it from one season 



to another. This little bunting is wholly beneficial, and besides being 



one of our most brilliantly colored song birds ranks near the Goldfinch 



as a songster. 



Passerina ciris (Linnaeus) 



Painted Bunting 



Emberiza ciris Linnaeus. Syst. Nat. Ed. 10. 1758. 1:179 

 Passerina ciris A. 0. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 1910. p. 286. No. 601 

 ciris, Gr., xstpts, daughter of Nisus, who was changed to a bird 



Description. Adult male: Head and sides of the neck indigo blue; 

 back golden green; rump and under parts red; wings and tail tinged with 



