52 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 8-No. 7 



in three hours ; 4-9 very numerous. At 

 (40) first flock 3-19 ; on 4-1 only six in one 

 mile, but 4-7 very large flocks. At (52) 

 only one large flock has been seen this 

 spring and that was 4-7. The most song- 

 was heard 4 12, when single ones and pairs 

 were everywhere, but by 4-14 the last tran- 

 sient had left. On 4-27 the first egg was 

 taken. No. (56) says his first was seen 

 3-27; while (57) saw his first 3-13, two 

 miles from town near straw pile, with a 

 little bare ground around it. All the ground 

 except a few small spots was covered 

 deep with snow. The next day he found 

 ^the same one with two others at the same 

 locality, but they were very scarce until 

 4-6, when a large flock of forty were seen, 

 and very soon after that they began mating. 



Passing on now to the Bluebird {Sialia 

 sialis,) we have somewhat near the same 

 story to tell. This bird is a trifle more 

 hardy than the Robin, and its winter quar- 

 ters average a little farther north ; but, un- 

 like the Robin, it is scattered pretty evenly 

 over all the country it inhabits, as if it 

 could easily make a living anywhere. We 

 may put down thirty-nine degrees as about 

 the limits of the stragglers during the win- 

 ter, but thirty-eight degrees would be more 

 nearly the normal limit of its winter home. 

 Of its winter habits (35) says that it is 

 sometimes absent for a week or so, but is 

 likely to be met with any week during the 

 Avinter, and in far greater numbers than in 

 the summer months. "WTien the ground is 

 soft, large numbers of them may be found 

 in meadows picking around the roots of 

 grass, as if searching for hidden insects ; 

 they also eat sumac berries. 



The bulk of them seem to have started 

 from their winter homes about the middle 

 of February, and from the last of February 

 to the middle of March were very numer- 

 ous between the thirty-seventh and thirty- 

 ninth parallels. No. (16) found sixty-three 

 to the mile on 3-5 ; (22) saw seventy-five 

 to the mile 3-12 ; (38) thinks the bulk of 

 their birds came about 3-1 ; and (30) savs 



that their great arrivals were about 2-24, 

 when half their birds had come back, both 

 in pairs and pairing; and 3-4 he says, 

 "Bluebirds were the birds of this week. 

 They were seen and heard everywhere ; 

 the males doing most of the warbling and 

 the females most of the fighting. I caught 

 two females in ni}' hands Avhich came down 

 to the ground in combat. One had an eye 

 badly closed. Before liberating I gave 

 each a tinge of aniline on the chin for fu- 

 ture reference." 



Large flocks of Bluebirds are not much 

 seen north of southern Iowa. By the time 

 they reach Iowa and central Illinois so 

 many of them have paired, and the rest are 

 so seriously contemplating that important 

 step, that more than four or six will sel- 

 dom be seen at once. The following dates 

 of the first ones seen show a progression 

 northward quite regular in its motion ; the 

 only exception being (56) who is on a high 

 bleak prairie, and it is natural that they 

 shoiild not appear imtil some time after 

 they had appeared at (57) who is in timber 

 right on the bank of the Mississippi. No. 

 (32) first one seen 2-7 ; (42) 2-21. On 2-28 

 were more numerous and showed signs of 

 pairing. (37) 2-28, not many until 3-8. 

 (38) 2-17 ; bulk came 3-1. (39) 2-28. (40) 

 2-28. (43) 3-1. (44) 3-1. Bulk came 3-14 

 and some took possession of the bird house 

 and went to housekeeping in earnest. (45) 

 3-20 but very few first week. (47) 3-12, 

 snoAv two feet on a level. Bulk came 3-25. 

 (52) 3.11. Seemed inclined to become com- 

 mon on 3-17, but sudden cold weather put 

 a complete stop to all migration from then 

 to 3-23, since which time they are about as 

 they will be all summer. (56) 4-1. (57) 

 3.14. (60) 4-5, a pair came back and are 

 singing on an old nest. 



No. (60) is very near the northern limit of 

 the Bluebird's range, which is usually given 

 as 48 degrees. It realty does sometimes go 

 beyond that, even to the British line ; but 

 from (60) northward it is rather a rare 

 bird. At about 47 degrees I usually saw 



