506 LAND BIRDS 



over and over while perching, never on the wing. Ex- 

 cept in the location of the nest, this bird is like the 

 mountain bluebird in breeding habits, which have been 

 fully described under that head. 



768. MOUNTAIN BLV^BIRB. — Sialia arctica. 

 Family : The Thrushes, Solitaires, etc. 



Length: 6.50-7.90. 



Adult Male : Upper parts brilliant ligM-blue ; under parts pale tur- 

 quoise blue. Winter plumage slightly duller. 



Adult Female : Upper parts gray, wings and tail bright turquoise blue ; 

 under parts soft light-brown, washed with blue. 



young: Grayish, indistinctly streaked or mottled with white; wings 

 and tail blue. 



Geographical Distribution : From Great Slave Lake south to New 

 Mexico, and from the Plains to the Pacific. 



California Breeding Bange: On the higher Sierra Nevada, from Mt. 

 Shasta to the San Bernardino mountains. 



Breeding Season : May, June, and July. 



Nest : In old woodpecker holes or in natural cavities of dead trees. 



Eggs : 5 to 7 ; pale turquoise blue. Size 0.85 X 0.63. 



The exquisite coloring of the Mountain Bluebird ren- 

 ders him easily the most beautiful of all Californian 

 birds. No words can describe his brilliancy in the breed- 

 ing season, as he flies through the sunny clearings of the 

 higher Sierra Nevada, or sits like a bright blue flower 

 against the dark green of the pines. In the winter the 

 brilliant blue of his plumage is dulled by brownish, but 

 even then he is glorious. All through the State east 

 of the humid coast belt these birds wander during the 

 winter in small flocks, looking like big blue butterflies, 

 as they hover fifty feet above the earth. At this time 

 they have all the habits of flycatchers ; I have seen them 



