INDIGO BUNTING (Passerina cyanea) 
Length, about 5% inches. The male is easily 
identified by the rich blue color, with black 
wings and tail. The female is warm brown. 
Range: Breeds from eastern North Dakota, 
central Minnesota, northwestern Michigan, 
southern Ontario, and southern New Bruns- 
wick to central Texas, southern Louisiana, 
central Alabama, and central Georgia; winters 
from southern Mexico to Panama. 
The indigo bird is the brightest colored spar- 
row that visits the north, but one can hardly 
believe that the sprightly dandy, clad in his 
rich blue suit, is the mate of the inconspicuous 
brown bird that seeks assiduously to conceal 
herself in the leafy cover, as though a bit 
ashamed of the contrast between her working 
suit and the holiday garb of her spouse. The 
indigo is a frequenter of sprout land, of 
brushy thickets, and of open woodland, and the 
male is fond of singing his cheerful lay from 
the topmost twig of a tall shrub or tree, as 
though challenging the world to produce his 
equal. For such a dainty bird, the nest is a 
singularly inartistic structure and very care- 
lessly built. It is placed in the crotch of some 
low leafy bush and is not at all difficult to find. 
The fine feathers of the male are not the 
enly claim of the indigo bird to our interest. 
Its food consists largely of weed seed, but it 
eats many insects, including a goodly propor- 
tion of grasshoppers and caterpillars. 
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 
(Zonotrichia albicollis) 
Length, about 634 inches, The white throat 
and yellow before the eye are its distinguish- 
ing colors. 
Range: Over most of eastern North Amer- 
ica. Breeds in much of Canada south to south- 
ern Montana, central Minnesota, central Wis- 
consin, and in the mountains of northern Penn- 
sylvania, New York, and Massachusetts; win- 
ters south of the Ohio. 
This is one of the bird lovers’ favorites, as 
well it may be. Its beautifully variegated plu- 
mage, its jaunty ways, its familiarity, and its 
sweet and plaintive whistle all combine to 
commend the bird to our interest. In the fall 
it comes to us in large flocks associated with 
other species, especially juncos and various 
other sparrows. The ‘peabody bird” is singu- 
larly prodigal of its sweet song, and the young 
white-throats begin to try their voices in the 
fall as if practicing for the more exacting de- 
mands of spring. When a number join in the 
fall chorus the result is singularly sweet and 
inspiring. Many a camper in the north woods, 
as he lies in his blanket under the stars, pays 
tribute to the sweet voice of this songster, as 
it is borne on the midnight air to his ears from 
some leafy retreat. 
The food habits of this sparrow give it a 
place among the farmers’ friends. It is a great 
destroyer of weed seed and is especially fond 
of those of ragweed and bindweed. In the 
cotton belt, where many white-throats winter, 
it includes among its insect food the boll 
weevil. 
LAZULI BUNTING (Passerina amcena) 
Male blue 
Length, from 5% to 5% inches. u 
jes 
above, breast brownish; wing bars white. 
male brownish. 
Range: Breeds from southern British Co- 
lumbia, southern Alberta, southeastern Sas- 
katchewan, and western North Dakota to 
southern California and southwestern Texas; 
winters in Mexico. 
The lazuli finch is a near relative of the in- 
digo bunting and the nonpareil, and its habits 
are in a general way very similar. There is 
the same disparity between the dress of the 
sexes, the color of the female being compara- 
tively dull and homely. The male, however, is 
a gay plumaged dandy in his suit of turquoise 
blue, and is likely to surprise the stranger who 
meets him for the first time, since his colors 
suggest a tropical setting and are somewhat 
out of keeping with his surroundings. Not- 
withstanding his fine feathers, he is not so 
fond of displaying himself as is his cousin, the 
indigo bird, but seems to think that the cover 
of brush and chaparral is essential to his 
safety. This song is vivacious and pleasing and 
the Easterner who hears it for the first time 
will have no difficulty in guessing at the iden- 
tity of the chorister, from the resemblance ot 
his lay to the ditty of the indigo bird. 
SLATE-COLORED JUNCO (Junco 
hyemalis) 
Length, about 614 inches. Prevailing color 
grayish slate, belly white; outer tail feathers 
tipped with white. 
Range: Breeds in much of Alaska and Can- 
ada and in the mountains of New York, Penn- 
sylvania, and Massachusetts, while a nearly re- 
lated form (the Carolina junco) breeds in the 
southern Alleghenies; winters throughout the 
Eastern States to the Gulf. 
Only one junco inhabits the eastern United 
States, but several species live in the west. All 
of the members of the group resemble each 
other in a general way and all have similar 
habits. Most of us know the junco only in the 
fall and when, after having summered in the 
mountains of the more northern districts, the 
birds gather in large flocks and forsake high 
altitudes for more congenial surroundings. 
The junco associates with other sparrows, 
usually far outnumbering them, but its slate- 
colored plumage and white tail feathers reveal 
its presence unmistakably. Its familiar ‘‘tsip” 
may be easily recognized among the medley of 
notes, but its low sweet song is to be heard at 
its best only in its alpine home. When snow 
is on the ground, the juncos are often hard 
pushed for food, and on such occasions a flock 
will readily respond to an invitation to visit 
the dooryard and dine on table crumbs or 
small seeds of any kind. 
The junco is one of our most persistent 
grass and weed seed eaters and in winter and 
spring seeds constitute much the greater part 
of its fare. 
