BLUEniRD. 41 



tho ftflVny tlmt they woro content to koop at i\ dintnnco thoroaftor. 

 But the " rufriun in fenthorH" haN mot with more NucceHH in other 

 forays, and haH driven away from iih many of our mont familiar and 

 entertaining birds. A colony of eavo swallowH that for years 

 gathered around tho **OhlSt(mo Church" in St. John was com- 

 pletely broken \i\> by the Hparrows, and many warblers have been 

 driven from garden hedges that they once enlivened. 



Our bluebirds are a hardy lot and seem (jnito inditroront to tho 

 weather, for though some of them wander as fur as the Mexican 

 table lands for winter quarters, many remain much further north, 

 and a few H[)end the colder months in the Middle Status. They 

 begin their northward migration in tho very early spring, and enter 

 Ontario and MaHSHchusetts in March — sometimes during February. 

 Coming to us while the air yet holds tho chill of winter's frost, 

 when patches of snow lie in tho hollows, and brown gr««s and 

 withered stalks add their suggestions of dosoliition to tho dreary 

 landscape, these early bluebirds become at once a jjromise and a 

 fulfilment. Their presence tells us that the dreary days are nearly 

 past, while in their songs, so tender and so sweet, we catch the very 

 essence of the spring. 



Bluebirds spend tho entire summer with us, and not until Indian 

 summer has given place to the dull, dark, lonely days of November 

 do they cease to cheer us. 



The male bluebird, like the male of most species of birds, wears 

 the brightest plumage. His back and wings are of a rich azure 

 blue, somewhat paler on the cheeks ; the throat, breast and sides 

 are of a reddish brown or chestnut tint, while the remainder of the 

 under parts are bluish white. Both bill end feet are black, and 

 the tips of the wing-quills are blackish. The female wears a blue- 

 tinged mantle, but the color is not so rich and bright as her mate's, 

 and is more or less mixed with grayish-brown. The white tint of 

 her under parts extends farther towards the chestnut on the 

 throat, which is of a paler hue than that worn by the male. Many 

 examples of both sexes are seen in dull and imperfect plumage, and 

 these vary from the above description. 



The bluebirds seek a substantial covering for their nests because 

 they do not care to spend much time in building. The female has 



