THE INDIGO BUNTING OR INDIGO-BIRD. 



{Passerina cyanea.) 



Throughout the United States, east 

 of Kansas and from New Brunswick 

 and southern Canada southward, the 

 home of the Indigo-bird is among 

 the bushes of the wayside, in clear- 

 ings, in briar patches and along the 

 borders of thickets. It is in such places 

 that we must seek this bright little 

 bird and it is not hard to find. He 

 will identify himself both by color and 

 song, but she, a plain and demure brown 

 bird skulking through the bushes, needs 

 an introduction. The novice can hard- 

 ly believe that she is the mate of the 

 beautiful bird which, dressed in a bright 

 indigo plumage, sings a blithesome mel- 

 ody from a conspicuous perch on the 

 tree top. Though theTndigos belong to 

 the sparrow family, she seems much 

 more sparrow-like than does her mate. 

 Examine her plumage closely, however, 

 and it will be found that her back is 

 unstreaked and that, as a rule, she has 

 a tinge of the blue of her mate on the 

 outer webs of her wings, on her shoul- 

 ders, and on her tail feathers. It is 

 very fortunate that the mother birds 

 whose mates are so ornately plumaged, 

 are dressed in somber colors in harmony 

 with their environment as they sit upon 

 their nests. The mother Indigo has no 

 "tell-tale feathers to attract the eye." 

 While the female Indigo is suspicious at 

 all times, she and her mate are at times 

 attracted to the shrubbery of gardens. 

 When in the vicinity of their nest, an 

 observer will soon realize that each step 

 he takes is protested by a female Indigo 

 which frequently utters a most vigorous 

 cheep accomp-^.nied by a nervous twich- 

 ing of the tail. Indeed her protesting 

 voice is so emphatic as she flies around 

 and before the intruder, that he is often 

 led far from the position of her nest. 



In fact, the nests of the Indigos are not 

 easily located. 



The nests of the Indigo Buntings 

 are usually built in a low bush, often 

 not more than a foot above the ground. 

 Sometimes they are placed in large 

 herbaceous plants such as the joe-pye. 

 When built in a bush, they are usually 

 placed in a crotch, but sometimes they 

 are merely hung from the branches of 

 herbs with but little, if any, support 

 underneath. The borders of cultivated 

 fields adjoining open woods and the 

 shrubbery along railroads furnish desir- 

 able home-sites in the judgment of these 

 charming birds. One would expect that 

 such a delicate bird would construct a 

 small and trim little nest. But this is 

 not the case. The nest, the external 

 wall of which consists of small stems, 

 pieces of dead leaves, strips of fibrous 

 bark, rootlets, and grasses, is usually 

 quite bulky. It is lined with fine 

 grasses, hair and downy seeds. 



During the period of incubation, while 

 the demure female is closely sitting 

 upon her eggs in the nest hidden in the 

 bushes below, her mate finds time for 

 cherry song from a conspicuous perch 

 on a tree-top or a telegraph wire. The 

 growing family cares do not seem to 

 reduce the exuberance of spirit that con- 

 trols his being and his voice becomes 

 stronger, more persistent and more ring- 

 ing. Frequently he visits his mate upon 

 the nest, but in doing so, he pursues 

 such an erratic course that it is very 

 difficult to follow him and he seldom 

 reveals the situation of his nest. He 

 assists in the labor of feeding the 

 young, but even then, he finds time 

 between journeys for food, to sing from 

 a chosen perch. He sings the greater 

 part of the day. The warm sunshine 



