DESCRIPTIVE LIST 335 



grass, and in this simple cradle the Bluebird lays its four or five pale-blue eggs. 

 Occasionally white eggs are found, and when this is the case the whole set is white. 

 At Raleigh nests containing eggs have been found as early as April 13 (1888) and 

 as late as June 26 (1886). 



The Bluebird feeds in summer mainly on insects and in winter chiefly on vari- 

 ous kinds of berries. In February, 1895, a blizzard covered the earth and trees 

 with ice for many days. The Bluebirds, thus being unable to procure food beneath 

 its glittering mantle, were starved and frozen by thousands. The species through 

 virtually the whole of the eastern United States suffered in the same way, and 

 apparently came very near being exterminated. For several years subsequently 

 it was a rare sight to see a Bluebird. They have now, however, about regained 

 their former numbers. 



Bluebirds will build their nest in a box placed on a pole in the garden or nailed 

 to a tree in the lawn. The pleasure of having them about the premises will well 

 repay one for the small labor involved in providing them with a suitable nesting 

 box. 



