ABOUT THE HOUSE. 



IN the adult male Bluebird the entire upper parts including the wings and 

 tail are blue. Beneath, the front and sides are reddish brown. The 



belly and feathers below the tail are white. The adult female bird 

 is much paler in color than the male, and the blue parts have a decided 

 grayish tinge. In both sexes the blue feathers are tipped 

 siaiia s?a?is (Linn ) w ^^ rustv brown in autumn, and some individuals, presum- 

 ably younger birds, retain more or less of these markings 

 in the spring. The adult birds are about seven inches in length. 



The young birds, on leaving the nest, have elongated whitish spots on 

 the blue of the back, which is of very pale shade. The feathers beneath are 

 grayish white and edged with black, so that the breast looks somewhat like 

 that of a Thrush. 



In the breeding season Bluebirds are found in the United States, west 

 to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, north to Manitoba and Nova 

 Scotia, south to the Gulf States. In winter they range from Southern New 

 York to the Gulf States. 



It seems almost superfluous to introduce this bird to the student. Its 

 early arrival at the close of the winter, and the cheery note at a time when 

 bird life seems so limited in our Northern States, makes it at once conspicu- 

 ous and welcome. Often before the snow has fairly melted its blithesome 

 voice is heard. Every old orchard, whose hollow trees afford nesting places, 

 soon has its resident pair. A deserted Woodpecker's hole, or the more 

 artificial "bird boxes," are not disdained. In such places a nest of fine 

 grasses is built and from four to six pale blue eggs are laid. There are 

 numerous records of sets of eggs pure white in color. They are more than 

 four fifths of an inch lon^, and exceed three fifths of an inch in their other 



o ' 



diameter. The time of breeding varies with the latitude from the middle of 

 March to May. 



In winter the birds are oreorarious. In flocks of from ten to fifty indi- 



o & * 



viduals they live a nomadic life, their wanderings being largely regulated by 

 the food supply and weather conditions. 



The song is indicative of the season : its plaintive call passing overhead 

 in the autumn seems a harbinger of gray days and falling leaves ; and its gay 



