BLUEBIRD 379 



The mocking-bird owes its popularity almost entirely to its 

 powers of song, for its gray color with whitish under parts is not 

 particularly attractive. 



It is about nine to ten inches long, one-half of which length 

 is represented by the tail. The somewhat bulky and misshapen 

 nest is found in bushes and low trees. It has two or three broods 

 in a season. Its food habits are similar to other members of the 

 thrush family. 



Bluebird (Plate 4, Fig. 19). -The common bluebird is too 

 well known to need detailed description. It is found in many 



FIG. 379. Wilson thrush or veery. (After Fuertes.) 



parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Central 

 America. It is of wide distribution, from the Atlantic to the 

 Rockies, and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. The bird's 

 upper parts, including wings and tail, are bright blue; the breast, 

 throat, and sides are reddish. The length is seven inches. 



Its note is among the first to be heard in the spring and one 

 of the last in the fall, at which latter time we associate it with the 

 falling leaves of Indian summer. To the writer its note hi the 

 fall has always appeared to take on additional sadness, as if lament- 

 ing the dying of the year. 



