96 The Bluebird 
In fact, we closed the windows to shut out the sounds of his sorrowing 
notes. 
“Upon looking out next morning, the first note we heard was that 
of the Bluebird, and his voice seemed to have lost some of its sorrow. 
Walking around the corner of the house I found him sitting on a tree- 
limb near the box. About two feet from him sat another Bluebird — a 
female. At eleven o’clock I saw her alight at the hole of the box and 
look inquiringly within. I knew what this meant; incidentally I knew, 
too, that like a true woman she would have no use for the nest and 
eggs which had been placed there by another, so I cleaned out the box. 
“We were anxious that the cat should have no chance to destroy 
our little friend’s second wife, so I suspended the box from a limb by 
a wire two feet in length. Five eggs were laid and the mother-bird 
began sitting. Then one night the cat prowled about. 
A ^Cat lble How he ever succeeded in his undertaking, I know 
not. He must have climbed the tree and walked out 
on the limb. I have never seen a cat slide down a wire ; nevertheless, the 
next morning the box was tenantless, and the feathers of the second 
female were scattered over the lawn. 
“This time the Bluebird’s heart seemed really broken, and his cries 
filled the grove. Eleven days passed before a third soul-mate came to 
share his fortunes. We could afford to take no more risks. On a sunny 
hillside in the garden the cat was buried, and a few weeks later four 
little Bluebirds left the lawn on their own wings.” 
Classification and Distribution 
The Bluebird belongs to the Order Passeres, Suborder Oscines, and the 
Family Turdidce — the Thrushes. Its scientific name is Sialia sialis sialis. The 
range includes the eastern United States and it breeds throughout this area. A 
subspecies is the Azure Bluebird, S. s. fulva, of southern Arizona and Mexico. 
This and other Educational Leaflets are for sale, at 5 cents each, by the National Association of 
Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Lists given on request. 
