536 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
plate showing these plumages will be found in the Auk, Vol. XVI, 1899, facing page 305. 
Length 7 to 8.50 inches, wing 3.90 to 4.15, tail 3.25 to 3.55. 
Note.—JI"or accounts of the Black-headed Grosbeak and the Blue Grosbeak, species 
of doubtful occurrence in Michigan, see Appendix. 
242. Indigo Bird. Passerina cyanea (Linn.). (598) 
Synonyms: Indigo Bunting, Indigo Painted Bunting, Indigo Finch, Blue Finch, Blue 
Canary.—Tanagra cyanea, Linn., 1766.—Fringilla cyanea, Wils., Bonap., Aud., Nutt.— 
Spiza cyanea, Jardine.—Cyanospiza cyanea, Baird, 1858, and most writers until 1886.— 
Passerina cyanea, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors. 
In full plumage the male appears entirely blue, darkest (almost black) 
about the head, lightest (cerulean) on the rump; in reality the wings and tail 
are black or dark brown, edged with blue. The female is brown above, 
soiled white below, usually with obscure dark streaks on the sides, and the 
wing and tail-feathers just perceptibly glossed with blue. 
Distribution.—Eastern United States, west to Kansas, north to New 
Brunswick, southern Ontario, and Minnesota; south in winter to Central 
America. 
The Indigo Bird is one of the later migrants to arrive in the state, coming 
to us at Lansing from the 5th to the 15th of May, a little earlier in the 
southernmost parts of the state, and perhaps a week later in the Upper 
Peninsula. It is widely distributed through the state and with the ex- 
ception of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, from which it seems to be absent, 
we have yet to hear of a place which it does not visit with some regularity 
and frequency. It breeds wherever found, and with us almost invariably 
rears two broods. It is not an early breeder, however, and the earliest 
nest of which we have record was taken at Kalamazoo, May 30, 1886. 
Other nests in the same county were June 3, 1876, June 8, 1877 and July 
22, 1886, the latter probably a second nest. Dr. Wolcott states that at 
Charlevoix it nests from June 1 to August 1, but more commonly about 
July 1. We have records also for Kalamazoo county on August 3 and 
August 8, and Wood and Frothingham found a pair nesting in Oscoda 
county August 16. 
After nesting is over the bird becomes scarce and shy, and it is difficult 
to say when they start on their southward migration; we have no record, 
however, of any taken after September 30th. 
The bird is a constant singer from the time it arrives until the second 
brood is out of the nest, and it sings volubly during the hottest part of the 
day, usually selecting the top of some tall tree and repeating its song many 
times before it seeks another perch. In spite of its brilliant color it is not 
at all conspicuous, and it is surprising how abundant the bird can be without 
attracting the attention of the average resident. 
~The nest is usually built among blackberry bushes, hazel thickets, or in 
similar bushy situations, and is seldom more than three or four feet from 
the ground. It is bulky and substantial, consisting of grasses and fibrous 
material of various kinds, but almost always including a considerable 
number of dead leaves, which often completely cover the outside of the nest. 
It is lined with rootlets, long hairs, and slender grasses, and usually contains 
three or four pale bluish-white or pure white eggs, without any spots. 
Perhaps one nest in a hundred will contain one or two eggs which have small 
specks of brown on the larger ends. The eggs average .73 by .53 inches. 
According to Hoffmann the song “consists often of sets of phrases given 
