72 BIKDS OF NEW ENGLAND AND EASTERN NEW YORK 



In southern Connecticut and Rhode Island, especially 

 along the Sound, and in the lower Hudson Valley, small 

 flocks of bluebirds spend the winter, feeding largely on 

 berries. In most of New England and New York, however, 

 the Bluebird is only a summer resident, common from early 

 March through October. The breeding birds arrive soon af- 

 ter the first warm days of March ; a little later the northern 

 migrants are seen flying over, singly, in pairs, or in small flocks. 



The Bluebird frequents country where more or less open 

 ground is broken by low trees or bushes ; an old apple 

 orchard is a typical haunt. Prom some low point of vantage, 

 a post or bough, it watches the ground, flying down at inter- 

 vals to secure an insect. From the first of April, the war- 

 bling of the male becomes less frequent, and by the middle 

 of the month the bird is comparatively silent. The female 

 is now sitting in some hollow limb, or in a box or jar pro- 

 vided for her. In June the second brood is raised, and 

 during the second mating season there is a renewal of the 

 song. The late summer and early fall find the Bluebird in 

 small groups, often associated with Chipping Sparrows, 

 feeding all through the open farming country. Snatches of 

 the spring song are now not infrequently heard, but the 

 characteristic note of this season is the call-note, cher-wee, 

 uttered by old and young of both sexes. When the parents 

 are attending their young, they utter a peculiar chatter, like 

 the syllables chut-ut-ut. The song is simple, and consists 

 chiefly of variations on the call-note ; its charm is due to 

 the gentleness and richness of the voice, and its association 

 with early spring. 



The Bluebird should be confused with no other blue 

 bird ; the Indigo-bird is blue on the breast, while the 

 Bluebird's breast is reddish-brown ; the female Bluebird 

 is dull-colored, but both females and young show blue in 

 flight. The Bluebird when perched looks round-shouldered, 

 and the male nearly always flutters a wing on alighting. 



