320 
BLUE-BIRD. 
black; inside of the mouth and soles of the feet yellow, resemb- 
ling the colour of a ripe persimmon: the shafts of all the wing and 
tail feathers are black; throat, neck, hreast, and sides partially 
under the wings, chestnut; wings dusky black at the tips; belly 
and vent white; sometimes the secondaries are exteriorly light 
brown, but the bird has in that case not arrived at his full co- 
lour. 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 de- 
scending 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 probable that many 
of those birds pass from our continent thence, at the commence- 
ment of winter, to enjoy the mildness of that climate as well as 
their favourite food. 
As the Blue-bird is so regularly seen in winter, after the con- 
tinuance of a few days of mild and open weather, it has given 
rise to various conjectures as to the place of his retreat. 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 sub- 
terraneous caverns, where they suppose he dozes away the win- 
ter, making, like Robinson 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 favourable sheltered 
situations of the middle states; and not only in the neighbour- 
hood of the sea, but on both sides of the mountains. * I have 
* I speak of the species here generally. Solitai'y individuals are found, parti- 
cularly among our cedar ti’ees, sometimes in the very depth of winter. 
