Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-04-26
NATURAL HISTORY
OF THE SOUTH
BY JAMES HENRY RICE, Jr.
THE BCUEBIRD,

n 2 DIO IOCpirG.
Order r,-Passeres; Family, Turdinae
Genus, sialla; Species, Stalls. >
The Bluebird belongs to the Order
Passeres; or perching bird. to Turdinas
or small thrushes, an off -shoot of thu
Turdidae. or, thrushes.. The name o.
the Genus comes from a Greek word
signifying some small bird. TO de.
scribe it; couple the name of the genus
with THAT of: the. species, always, re.
peatipg the species, when it Is type
name. Thus, our Bluebird would be
called Sialia stalls SialiS.'':'
The range of the Bluebird extends
from southern Canada to southern
Texas and lower Florida. It is acct
dental in Cuba, but resident In Ber-
muda. It is migratory but breeds
throughout its range.
Nests In Hollows.
Nesting. sites. are invariably hollows
Of some kind, old gate posts, hollow
trees, sometimes in nesting boxes
Wayne says as many as three broods
are occasionally raised and that hs
has taken three sets Of eggs from the
same pair of birds. . These eggs
strange to say, were white, although
as rule the four OR five eggs of the
Blueblrd are pale blue without mark
ings.
The male is easily distinguished
from the female by the. deeper chest
nut. of the breast. and the deeper blue
Of the back. Sometimes specimens
are taken In which the blue runs en-
tirety around the bill, cutting off the
usual chestnut marking.
THE earliest. harbInger of spring.
as he has been called, the Bluebird
begins to pair toward the end Of Feb
ruary. The gentlest of birds the Blue
bird fnav not be- tanned or confined. He
belongs to the sunshine and the ele-
ments outside.
No one has accused the Bluebird of
injuring crops or anything else. My
friend, the late DR.. F: E. L. Beal, oil
the Biological Survey, who examined
more than eighty thousand birds
stomachs. found that seventy-siN per
cent. of the Bluebtrd's food was ami
NAL matter, consisting of insects.
During lifetime of gardening, one OF
the thinSa that interested me always
was to watch Bluebirds dropping down
to pick up cutworms. They waste no
time at it.. Many times have I ex-
posed cutworTTls, then moved away to
allow the Bluehird his chance. 1t was
always accepted. Bluebirds become SO
tame that they will pick up grubs and
other insects almost from under your
feet.
Man has required, a long time to
realise that he has been savage IN
his treatment Of birds, and that almost
all the shyness Of birds results from
we'll founded diatrlist. OF course this
does always hold true, for; some birds,
wholly uriacquainted with man, are
shy; but there arc few such. and the
BiuebirH does not belong to the class.
He Id conffding to degree, and. while
unwilling to surrender his. freedom,
delights in being near man. The ab-
sGnce of convenient nesting sites Of.
Ten accounts for the. disappearance Of
Bluebirds from. n locality.
Mierates from North in Fail
During the fall there are great mi
grations of Bluebirds from the North
They occur in flocks, and these. focks
are often increased by resident birds
who collect in droves and join the
larger droves. '-
Mrs. Mabel osgood Wright, who hai
written beautiful things about the
and other birds, says:- ::
"Above all things, the Bluebird.
though friendly and seeking the bor-
derland between. the wild and. the
tame. never becomes familiar, and
never does he lose his haif-remote in
dividuality that is one of his chief
charms. Though he lives with us and
lives no sign of pride of birth or race.
he Is not of u.s. as the Song Sparrow,
Ehippy, or even the easily ALARMED
Robin. The poets mantle envelops
linn, even as the apple blossoms throw
q rosy mist about his doorway, and it
Is best so.
The plumagc is always duller in
color during. winter. He has laid
aside song and nuptial raiment. 1t Is
Il sober season and ne is clad accord
ingly.
Scarce in the South.
In former times when old gate
posts. and hollow trees abounded In
every community, the Bluebird was al
WAYS in evidence. The fences went
and with them the gate posts; likewise
the dead trees. for there were few
So the Bluebird had to hunt
a home elsewhere.
The blizzard Of February. 1898,
brought the Bluebird perlously nigh
to extinction. For years thereafter
Bluebirds were scarce; and believe
the state became stocked from warm
er attitudes. Their numbers are nor
NAL now and may be kept so. Some
one called him "a feathered poem" anu
he has on his back the blue OF the SKY
and on his bosom the cinnamon
rufous or chestnut in sharp contrast
to the white of the lower abdomen and
under l-coverts-modestly beautiful
in every line.
Copyright by Jas. d. GrisD