THE BLUEBIRD. 215 



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 Eng- 

 lish redbreast is much the most skilled musician. 

 He has indeed a fine, animated warble, heard nearly 

 the year through about English 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 spe- 

 cies 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 there are at least three species of 

 the common bluebird, while in all our woods there is 

 the blue jay and the indigo-bird, the latter so in- 

 tensely blue as to fully justify its name. There is 

 also the blue grossbeak, not much behind the indigo- 

 bird in intensity of color ; and among our warblers 

 the blue tint is very common. 



It is interesting to know that the blue-bird is not 

 confined to any one section of the country ; and that 

 when one goes west he will still have this favorite 

 with him, though a little changed in voice and color, 

 just enough to give variety without marring the 

 'dentity. 



