47



THE


Bvicultural flfoagastne,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCI ETY.



New Se?ies — VOL. VI.—No. 2 .— Ail rights reserved. DECEMBER, 1907.



THE BLUEBIRD.


Sialia sialis (Linn.)


By C. William Beebe,


Curator of Ornithology; New York Zoological Park.


To write an essay on the Bluebird is like attempting to

describe the face of a dear friend ; it is so familiar, so much of

its charm has always been taken for granted, that it is difficult to

translate into definite words and phrases. In the north-eastern

part of the United States the Bluebird is the true harbinger of

spring and its beauty of colour and note, together with its

friendly habits and love of human habitations endear it to all

lovers of birds wherever it is found. The appearance of the

Bluebird, or Blue Robin as it is called by foreign dealers, is too

well known to require description. Some one has truly said that

from its back it reflects the colour of the sky; from its breast,

the earth.


In the latitude of New York City, Bluebirds may be

observed every month in the year, but those seen in winter are

in silent restless flocks, constantly on the move, ever in search of

the half frozen berries which mean life itself at this bleak season.

The fruit of the poison ivy, catbrier and bittersweet, and the

bluish clusters of the cedar are all eagerly eaten. In the southern

states the berries of the mistletoe are a favourite item of the

Bluebirds diet.


When the first warm days of early March loosen the

icicles and soften the snow, the throat of the Bluebird feels the

thawing and the first notes of the season are heard. This

familiar call-note has well been named the “ violet of sound.”



