316 REPORT OF NEW JERSEY STATE MUSEUM, 



of body ; throat paler and abdomen and under tail-coverts white ; winter 

 plumage browner above. 



Young in first summer. Above, brownish-gray, back streaked with white ; 

 tail and outer edge of wings, blue ; below, white, feathers of the breast, throat 

 and sides of body edged with brown, producing a mottled or scaled appearance. 



Nest in a hollow tree or box, made almost wholly of grass ; eggs, four to 

 five, bluish-white, .80x.60. 



Common summer resident and occasional resident. Arrives Feb- 

 ruary 17th (March 2d), departs November 10th. 



The soft warble of the Bluebird has come to be recognized as the 

 announcement of spring's arrival, and we look eagerly for the bird on 

 every warm day of February. 



In southern New Jersey, and elsewhere locally, the Bluebird's 

 presence has less significance, as small flocks find shelter in the 

 thickets all winter long, and even on days that are anything but 

 spring-like, we can hear their low "tur-lur, tur-lur." 



The Bluebird seems to have been one of the chief sufferers from 

 the introduction of the English Sparrow, and many a bird box for- 

 merly inhabited by these beautiful Americans is now the domicile of 

 the ever present foreigner, recalling the deserted old homesteads that 

 one sees now and then converted into shelters for gangs of Italian 

 laborers. 



