16 THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF Ni;W YORK 



Bluebird {continued) 



Call no. 

 Nu Bm Male (left) and Female (right), Front View, with Food on 

 Stump. Areade. (1909) Beche 



Note that both birds have food and that it consists of insects, 

 the male having several worms or larvae. More commonly, how- 

 ever, the female gives more attention to feeding the young and 

 does most of the work of preparing the nest. The picture also 

 illustrates the bluebird's fondness for stumps in open pastures. 

 Study carefully the differences in the color of the two birds. 



Nu Bml Female on Electric Perch with Insect Food in Beak, Pro- 

 file Chapman 



The electric perch is a device for photographing automatically 

 the bird when it alights on it. Bluebirds feed upon many kinds 

 of destructive insects. They get most of them from the ground, 

 but will sometimes seize them in the air. 



Nu Bm2 Nesting Sites in an Old Apple Tree 



Old apple and pear trees are favorite nesting places for blue- 

 birds. The various woodpeckers provide nesting places for them 

 for the reason that the former, as a rule, use a new nest each 

 year. This tree had three kinds of birds nesting in it at one time. 

 The blue bird will also occupy boxes erected for the purpose. 



Nu Bm3 Nest and Four Eggs in Hollow of Tree Trunk 



A piece of wood was removed to photograph the eggs. When 

 it was replaced the bluebirds returned to the nest regularly and 

 were not disturbed. The claws of young bluebirds are sharp. 

 Does the picture suggest the need of such claws? 



Nu Bm32 Same Hollow of Tree as in Nu Bni3 with Young Birds 



Nu Bm4 Two Young Birds Taken Out of Nest and Placed on a 

 Stump. Genesco. (June 1902) Bailey 



The young birds remain in the nest until they are able to fly, 

 about 15 days. When removed forcibly and placed in an ex- 

 posed position, they crouch down and attempt to hide as they 

 did when they were in the nest, an instinct of self-preservation. 

 Note the spots on back and breast, a typical thrush color pattern 

 that the adults do not have. 



