16 
OHIO EXPERIMENT STATION: BULLETIN 250 
BLUEBIRD, Sialia stall's stalts (Linn.) 
Because of the association between the Bluebird and springtime, 
it is one of the best known of our birds. In spring, its cheery 
warble is in harmony with the season and its plaintive notes in the 
fall suggest the dying year. It is essentially a summer bird, though 
large numbers winter in the extreme southern part of the state 
and small numbers in all parts. It is a lover of the open fields and 
sunshine, and is esteemed by country-folk, in general, more than 
any other bird. Two or three broods are reared in a natural cavity, 
in a tree, post, or rail, or in a box provided for the purpose. 
Of its food, 76 percent consists of insects and other small 
animal forms; 24 percent is of vegetable substances, taken mostly in 
winter. Of the whole food, beetles constitute 28 percent, grasshop¬ 
pers 22 percent and caterpillars 11 percent. Its only offense is 
the eating of a few predaceous or beneficial beetles, amounting to 8 
percent of its food for the entire year. The Bluebird is harmless as 
far as vegetable food is concerned, as this consists of wild fruits 
and seeds taken when insects are difficult to obtain. 
BLUEBIRD AT NEST 
Fig. 2. From Bird Lore, Vol. 9, No. 1. Photo by A. P. Morse. 
