BLUE-BIRD. 319 



When all the gay scenes of the summer are o'er, 

 And autumn slow enters so silent and sallow, 



And millions of warblers, that charmed us before, 

 Have fled in the train of the sun-seeking 1 swallow; 



The Blue-bird, forsaken, yet true to his home, 

 Still lingers, and looks for a milder to-morrow, 



Till forced by the horrors of winter to roam, 

 He sings his adieu in a lone note of sorrow. 



While spring's lovely season, serene, dewy, warm, 

 The green face of earth, and the pure blue of heav'n, 



Or love's native music have influence to charm, 

 Or sympathy's glow to our feelings are giv'n, 



Still dear to each bosom the Blue-bird shall be; 

 His voice, like the thrillings of hope, is a treasure; 



For, through bleakest storms if a calm he but see, 

 He comes to remind us of sunshine and pleasure! 



The Blue-bird, in summer and fall, is fond of frequenting 

 open pasture fields; and there perching on the stalks of the great 

 mullein, to look out for passing insects. A whole family of 

 them are often seen, thus situated, as if receiving lessons of dex- 

 terity from their more expert parents, who can espy a beetle 

 crawling among the grass, at a considerable distance; and after 

 feeding on it, instantly resume their former position. But who- 

 ever informed Dr. Latham that " this bird is never seen on trees, 

 though it makes its nest in the holes of them!"* might as well 

 have said, that the Americans are never seen in the streets, 

 though they build their houses by the sides of them. For what 

 is there in the construction of the feet and claws of this bird to 

 prevent it from perching? Or what sight more common to an 

 inhabitant of this country than the Blue-bird perched on the top 

 of a peach or apple-tree; or among the branches of those reverend 

 broadarmed chestnut trees, that stand alone in the middle of our 

 fields, bleached by the rains and blasts of ages? 



The blue-bird is six inches and three quarters in length, the 

 wings remarkably full and broad; the whole upper parts are of 

 a rich sky blue, with purple reflections; the bill and legs are 



* Synopsis, v. IT, p. 446 40. 



