iirds Tioga 0©, N. Y. Aiden Lori 



22. Bluebirrl. This beautiful little bird is j 

 one of the earliest to arrive, making its appear- 

 ance about the middle of March, and some- 

 times earlier. Immediately after mating, nest 

 building commences; this is placed in a nat- 

 „ral cavity of a tree or deserted Woodpecker's 

 nest; it is very loosely constructed of dried 

 grass, and is quite shallow. The eggs, four 

 to five in number, are of a light blue color, and 

 I believe instances have been known of their 

 being found pure white. One set which came 

 under my observation was found in a tele- 

 graph pole and were all nearly wliite and sound 

 and the measurement of one of them is 3-4 in. 

 by 5-8 in. Two broods are often reared in one 

 season. As soon as the young can shift for 

 themselves they take to the fields with their 

 parents to search for small bugs and worms. 

 As the last of October draws near botli parents 

 and young leave for the south. 



O, &0, XV. June. 18SO, P-6i 



A QoEEB Nbstinu Place. A few days ago, while look- 

 ing oyer the new Slater Library building now in process of 

 construction in this place, the foreman called my attention 

 to a Bluebird's nest that had been placed between a win- 

 dow-frame and the casing. It was just out of reach, and 

 was very near the main entrance where the workmen were 

 going in and out, carrying brick, stone and mortar from 

 morning till night. The female bird rarely left the nest, 

 and then only for a short time. The nest had no covering 

 and the bird could be plainly seen from the street. Shewes g" 

 as confiding a specimen as I ever saw, and her confidence Q 

 was not misplaced, for the workmen were very prond of 

 their feathered protegee, and championed her cause from the m 

 first. At the date of this writing she has hatched her young 

 and is busily engaged feeding them. ^ 



Aug. 30. I want to say that the Bluebirds of which I wrote ng 

 you recently, were birds of rare firmness and pluck. As the J*' 

 Library building progressed, it became necessary to move 

 the nest containing the unfledged birds, so the foreman 0) 

 found a small box and placed the nest and young in it, tt> 

 leaving it in a consplcnoiis place. The old birds seemed to ^ 

 understand the proceedings and governed themselves ac- 

 cordingly, finishing their labor of love and sending out into 

 the world a family of birds that will no doubt reflect credit 

 upon their parents.— Cftas. Edw. Prior, Jewett City. 



o 



B.W.Ewmann. 



7^ 



203. Sialia sialis. Bluebird.— A common summer resident; a few 

 probably remain in sheltered places throughout the winter. February 12, 

 1884; March 7, 1885. Until within the last ten years nearly every cleared 

 field in this part of Indiana contained the stumps of the jnany trees that 

 had been felled in clearing the land. Many of these stumps contained 

 small hollows from three to six inches in diameter, and from one to two 

 or three feet deep. As long as the stumps remained, these hollows were 

 a favorite nesting place for the Bluebirds. But now that the slimips have 

 been removed, the Bluebirds have betaken themselves to deserted wood- 

 pecker holes in trees, or to rotten fence posts. 



Auk, VI. Jfc». , 1880. p. ^0 . 



