BLUEBIRD. 81 
true representatives in England— Robin Redbreast and Kitty Wren. The Purple Martin— 
grandest of the swallow tribe—could, in the same way, have been attracted in large and 
useful numbers to the very centers of our largest cities. -Hear, what an Englishman, 
Capt. Saville G. Reid, says of our Bluebird, as observed by him in Bermuda, where it 
is resident, and, in accordance with the English custom, rigidly protected: ‘This is, 
to my mind, the most delightful of birds, and certainly the flower of the limited flock 
of Bermuda residents; its brilliant plumage, vivacious manners and pleasant warble 
render it an object of interest to all, while its confiding and fearless nature in the breed- 
ing season, and the number of noxious insects it destroys, cause it to be strictly pro- 
tected throughout the islands. The male bird in spring, when the sun’s rays illumine 
his dazzling blue plumage, is perfectly lovely; he flashes across the road like a ray of 
azure light, and seems actually to blaze with intense color from among the sombre 
foliage of the cedars.’— There is no bird in England—not even the semi-domestic Robin 
Redbreast— which is more easily encouraged to seek human society than the Bluebird ; 
certainly none are so beautiful and none more lovable in every way.... The list of 
familiar, attractive, and useful songsters might be greatly extended; but enough have 
been mentioned to show that the United States is not so badly off in the matter of 
song birds as might appear. We have them in abundance, but they are treated with 
indifference—or, what is worse still, snubbed by the perverted sentiment which prefers 
the detestable House Sparrow to the Bluebird, the House Wren or the Purple Martin. 
When that worse than useless vagabond was introduced to this country, boxes were 
immediately put up for his accommodation, and every means taken to protect him. 
Yet, none of our native birds, no matter how useful, beautiful, or melodious, was con- 
sidered worth the trouble. Had the same steps been taken to encourage and protect 
those of our native species which are most worthy of such attention, there is no question 
that our towns and villages and city parks would hy this time have become full of 
Bluebirds, Wrens, and other attractive and useful birds, whose place is now taken by 
that rank weed among birds, the European Sparrow.... Let us instead of continuing 
to deprecate our supposed scarcity of song birds and attempting the remedy by futile 
importations of foreign species, encourage and rigidly protect those which the bounty 
of nature has provided for us, and of which we have every reason to be proud.’’* 
Mr. H. Baumgertner—as great a lover of birds as of flowers—told me lately that 
in his garden, lying in the midst of the city of Milwaukee, a pair of Bluebirds build 
their nest every year in spite of the presence of countless Sparrows. After many experi- 
ments, he has found that the latter birds will not use nesting boxes where the perch, 
right under the entrance hole, is absent, while the Bluebird evinces a predilection for 
such. He uses small wooden paint kegs, bores, within four or five inches from the top, 
a 11% inch entrance hole, and fastens them on poles or trees. If there is no perch near 
the entrance the Sparrow cannot support itself at all, or only with difficulty, while 
the Bluebird flies in and out very adroitly. Bird boxes made of boards with only an 
entrance hole but without a perch will also certainly prove of good service. Everyone 
who wishes to have Bluebirds in his garden, should profit by this experience. 
Every friend of nature, every farmer and gardener ought to care in every way for 
* Audubon Magazine. Vol. I, 1887, page 127—131. 11 
