120 BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 



Not the least of our most brilliant every-day 

 songsters is the indigo-bird. Only in a poor light 

 is he as dull as common indigo. In the sunlight 

 his coat is an intense, exquisite blue, the shade of 

 which varies as he moves, and is described by 

 Thoreau as " glowing indigo." Mrs. Indigo has 

 a pretty tinge of blue on her shoulders and tail 

 feathers, but if the light is not right to bring this 

 out, the peculiarly warm brown, which is almost 

 burnt sienna, is enough to distinguish her from 

 the ordinary brown birds that are like her in size 

 and build. Her habit of jerking her tail from 

 side to side is also diagnostic. 



The indigo-bird is one of our most energetic, 

 tireless songsters. He is usually seen on the top 

 of a bush or a tree not more than twenty or thirty 

 feet high ; often in the edge of the woods, or in a 

 clump of bushes beside the road, and sometimes 

 in the garden, where his breezy, sunny song shows 

 that he is making the most of all the light and 

 air that are to be had. Blithe and merry in the 

 sunshine, he sings as loudly through the noonday 

 heat as in the cooler hours. 



His roundelay has been syllabified in various 

 ways, but the rhythm and tone may be suggested 

 by che-ree' che-ree' che-ree' che-ree f che-rah' rah- 

 rup f . The last half varies greatly, sometimes 

 being che-rah' rah-ah-rup, or che-rah 1 che-rif) 1 

 cherup 1 . Very often the song ends with an inde- 

 scribable, rapid flourish of confused notes. 



