BLUE OR METALLIC BLUE 505 



767. WESTERN BLUEBIRD. — Sialia mexicana 



occidentalis. 



Family : The Thrushes, Solitaires, etc. 



Length: 6.50-7.12. 



Adult Male : Upper parts dark blue and brown ; throat purplish blue ; 

 breast bright chestnut ; under parts brown, washed with purplish 

 blue. 



Adult Female : Upper parts brownish gray ; blue on rump and tail. 



Young : Gray, mottled and streaked with white, darkest on upper parts. 



(feographical Distribution : Transition zone of Pacific coast from British 

 Columbia south to central California, east to Western Montana. 



California Breeding Range : Local in upper Sonoran zone and through- 

 out Transition zone. 



Breeding Season : April, May, and June. 



Nest: In old woodpecker holes or in cavities of pine trees, usually 

 rather high. 



Eggs: 6 ; light blue. Size 0.81 X 0.67. 



In coloring, the Western Bluebird is the counterpart 

 of the bluebird of the East, but he is much more shy, 

 seldom coming close to houses or nesting near the homes 

 of men. He is a resident throughout the foot-hills and 

 lower mountains, coming down to the valleys in winter, 

 I have found him oftenest along country roadsides or in 

 the edge of the woods, and have seldom seen him within 

 the borders of a town even in the winter. This Blue- 

 bird, like the mountain species, has the flycatcher habit 

 of darting down from a perch for insects, and often 

 hunting through the grass for them and flying back to 

 the perch to eat. Crickets, moths, grasshoppers, cater- 

 pillars, ants, and weevils form the large part of his diet, 

 varied with fruits. 



His song is clear and mellow, — three notes repeated 



