136 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY 
more properly to the entomologist, I shall only, in the 
course of this work, take notice of some of the most re- 
markable; and occasionally represent them in the same plate 
with those birds on which they are usually found. 
The usual spring and summer song of the Blue-bird is a 
soft, agreeable and oft-repeated warble, uttered with open 
quivering wings, and is extremely pleasing. In his motions 
and general character he has great resemblance to the Robin 
Red-breast of Britain; and had he the brown olive of that bird 
instead of his own blue, could scarcely be distinguished 
from him. Like him he is known to almost every child; 
and shows as much confidence in man by associating with 
him in summer, as the other by his familiarity in winter. 
He is also of a mild and peaceful disposition, seldom fight- 
ing or quarrelling with other birds. His society is courted 
by the inhabitants of the country, and few farmers neglect 
to provide for him, in some suitable place, a sung little sum^ 
mer house, ready fitted and rent free. For this he more 
than sufficiently repays them by the cheerfulness of his 
song, and the multitude of injurious insects which he daily 
destroys. Towards fall, that is in the month of October, 
his song changes to a single plaintive note, as he passes over 
the yellow, many coloured woods; and its melancholy air 
recals to our minds the approaching decay of the face of 
nature. Even after the trees are stript of their leaves, he 
still lingers over his native fields, as if loth to leave them. 
About the middle or end of November few or none of them 
are seen; but with every return of mild and open weather, 
we hear his plaintive note amidst the fields, or in the air, 
seeming to deplore the devastations" of winter. Indeed he 
appears scarcely ever totally to forsake us; but to follow 
fair weather through all its journeyings till the return of 
spring. 
The Blue-bird, in summer and fall, is fond of frequenting 
open pasture fields; and there perching on the stalks of the 
great mullein , to look out for passing insects. A whole 
family of them are often seen, thus situated, as if receiving 
lessons of’ dexterity from their more expert parents, who 
can espy a beetle crawling among the grass, at a considerable 
distance; and after feeding on it, instantly resume their 
former position. But whoever informed Dr. Latham that 
“ this bird is never seen on trees, though it makes its nest 
in the holes of them!” might as well have said, that the 
Americans are never seen in the streets, though they build 
their houses by the sides of them. For what is there in the 
construction of the feet and claws of this bird to prevent it 
from perching? Or what sight more common to an inhabit- 
ant of this country than the Blue-bird perched on the top 
of a peach or apple-tree; or among the branches of those 
reverend broadarmed chesnut trees, that stand alone in the 
middle of our fields, bleached by the rains and blasts of 
ages? 
The Blue-bird is six inches and three quarters in length, 
the wings remarkably full and broad; the whole upper parts 
are of a rich sky blue, with purple reflections; the bill and 
legs are black; inside of the mouth and soles of the feet 
yellow, resembling the colour of a ripe persimmon; the 
shafts of all the wing and tail feathers are black; throat, 
neck, breast, and sides partially under the wings, chesnut; 
wings dusky black at the tips; belly and vent white; some- 
times the secondaries are exteriorly light brown, but the 
bird has in that case not arrived at his full colour. The 
female is easily distinguished by the duller cast of the back, 
the plumage of which is skirted with light brown, and by 
the red on the breast being much fainter, and not descend- 
ing near so low as in the male; the secondaries are also more 
dusky. This species is found over the whole United States; 
in the Bahama islands where many of them winter; as also 
in Mexico, Brazil, and Guiana. 
Mr. Edwards mentions that the specimen of this bird 
which he was favoured with, was sent from the Bermudas; 
and as these islands abound with the cedar, it is highly pro- 
bable that many of those birds pass from our continent 
thence, at the commencement of winter, to enjoy the mild- 
ness of that climate as well as their favourite food. 
As the Blue-bird is so regularly seen in winter, after the 
continuance of a few days of mild and open weather, it has 
given rise to various conjectures as to the place of his re- 
treat. Some supposing it to be in close sheltered thickets, 
lying to the sun ; others the neighbourhood of the sea, where 
the air is supposed to be more temperate, and where the 
matters thrown up by the waves furnish him with a constant 
and plentiful supply of food. Others trace him to the dark 
recesses of hollow trees, and subterraneous caverns, where 
they suppose he dozes away the winter, making, like Ro- 
binson Crusoe, occasional reconnoitering excursions from 
his castle, whenever the weather happens to be favourable. 
But amidst the snows and severities of winter, I have sought 
for him in vain in the most sheltered situations of. the mid- 
dle States; and not only in the neighbourhood of the sea, 
but on both sides of the mountains. I have never, indeed, 
explored the depths of caverns in search of him, because I 
would as soon expect to meet with tulips and butterflies 
there, as Blue-birds, but among hundreds of woodmen, who 
have cut down trees of all sorts, and at all seasons, I have 
never heard one instance of these birds being found so im- 
mured in winter; while in the whole of the middle and 
eastern States, the same general observation seems to pre- 
vail that the Blue-bird always makes his appearance in 
winter after a few days of mild and open weather. On the 
other hand, I have myself found them numerous in the 
woods of North and South Carolina, in the depth of winter, 
and I have also been assured by different gentlemen of re- 
