254 BIRDS OF ALABAMA 



27.2 per cent of the total food. Thirty-two of the 51 blue gros- 

 beaks ate them, several taking nothing else. They are fed to 

 the nestlings in generous measure, and without doubt are the 

 most important single article of diet.$ 



INDIGO BUNTING : Passerina cyanea (Linnaeus), 



State records. — The indigo bird is an abundant summer 

 resident in the northern and middle portions of the State. It 

 does not breed in the southern counties, nor has it been seen 

 there in migration. In the Talladega Mountains it ranges 

 to the tops of the ridges, 1,800 feet altitude. It has been 

 noted in the breeding season at Florence, Huntsville, Elkmont, 

 Sand Mountain (Jackson Ck)unty), Fort Payne, Erin (Clay 

 County), Tuscaloosa, Greensboro, Scale, Barachias, and Au- 

 taugaville. 



Migrants were noted as arriving at Greensboro, April 6 

 (1887) and April 15 (1893) ; Coosada, April 6 (1878) ; Bara- 

 chias, April 13 (1909) ; Leighton, April 17 (1891); and 

 Scottsboro, April 18 (1914). Most of the birds depart in 

 September and the last are seen about the middle of October. 

 Eggs have been found at Autaugaville, May 22; Barachias, 

 June 4 ; Leighton, May 16, June 24, July 22, and August 12. 



Generai habits. — This handsome little sparrow dwells in 

 bushy pastures, second-growth sprout lands, and similar situa- 

 tions. It is in many sections very abundant but, in spite of 

 its bright colors, attracts little attention. The male is a per- 

 sistent singer throughout the season, even in the heat of the 

 midsummer days; the song, delivered from a rather elevated 

 perch on a tree or telegraph wire, has been described as "a sort 

 of hurried warble, quite fluent, and yet seeming to stick in 

 the throat a little" (Langille). The plain, brown-streaked 

 female may be recognized by the peculiar chink, characteristic 

 of the species. The nests are placed in bushes or blackberry 

 briers, 3 to 4 feet from the ground. 



Food habits. — Forbush states that the indigo bird feeds on 

 caterpillars, grasshoppers, measuring worms, the larvae of 

 butterflies and moths, and small beetles. "The larger part of 

 its food consists of seeds, many of which are those of weeds. 



JMcAtee, W. L., Biol. Snrv. Bull. 32, pp. 78-85, 1908. 



