FINCHES, SPARROWS 



(598) Passerina cyanea 



(Linn.) (Gr., dark blue). 



INDIGO BUNTING. Ad. cf — 

 As shown by the upper bird; intense 

 indigo-blue on the head and breast, 

 lightening somewhat and changing to 

 a Prussian blue on the back, rump and 

 under parts; wings and tail blackish, 

 with blue edgings to the feathers. 

 Ad. 9 — A plain, dull-colored bird, 

 grayish-brown above and paler below 

 with indistinct streaks on the breast 

 and sides. L., 5.60; W., 2.50; T., 

 2.10; B., .40. Nest — Of weeds, 

 grasses and leaves, lined with fine 

 grass or hair; in bushes; four or five 

 pale blue eggs, sometimes almost 

 white, .75 X .50. 



Range — Breeds from N. B., Ont., 

 Mich, and Minn, south to Ga., La., 

 and Tex. Winters southward from 

 Mexico and Cuba. 



not only sings to her, but brings her choice morsels as she 

 sits upon the eggs in their rather frail nest, and also fre- 

 quently relieves her of this duty and incubates them hitnself. 

 When he is covering the eggs, he very often warbles his song 

 in a softer voice than usual. 



BLUE GROSBEAKS, during summer, are quite com- 

 monly found in brush, brier, and weed-grown fields, clearings 

 or along waterways. Their handsome blue coat has the 

 same changeable quality as that of the Bluebird. Seen in 

 some lights it appears as a dull black; again, the same coat 

 may look intense dark blue or blue of a light and bright shade. 

 His mate is a very dull-plumaged bird showing no more mark- 

 ing or beauty of plumage than the female English Sparrow. 



Their nests, which are built in bushes or clumps of weeds 

 within a few feet of the ground, are quite compactly made of 

 grasses. Their note of alarm is a sharp, energetic chirp or 

 "ptchick," both birds perching near at hand and repeating 

 it when you are in the vicinity of their nest. The male sings 



2,2,2, 



