. Familiar features of the roadside; the flowers, shrubs, birds, and insects. Natural history. 146 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. an evident feeling of confidence in tlie good-will of mankind. The bluebird is evenly colored with pale ultra- marine from his crown to the middle of his back and wings; the brightest color is at the shoulders; under his bill is a little white, but his breast is rusty red. The long feathers of his wings and those of his tail are slate-gray tinged blue; beneath he is white. I can conceive of nothing more beautifully soft in color than the plumage of the bhiebird
. Familiar features of the roadside; the flowers, shrubs, birds, and insects. Natural history. 146 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. an evident feeling of confidence in tlie good-will of mankind. The bluebird is evenly colored with pale ultra- marine from his crown to the middle of his back and wings; the brightest color is at the shoulders; under his bill is a little white, but his breast is rusty red. The long feathers of his wings and those of his tail are slate-gray tinged blue; beneath he is white. I can conceive of nothing more beautifully soft in color than the plumage of the bhiebird in early spring, when the in- cipient green grass and the yet leafless but budding twigs of the orchard trees are but a welcome promise of color to come. But if once our eyes are fortunate enough to catch the gleam of the bluebird's wings against the leaden hue of a cloudy New England sky we are satisfied ; and amid the gray surroundings the touch of cerulean blue seems as precious as it is beautiful. It is not strange that the farmer rejoices at the advent of the bluebird, either, for it has been esti- mated that each pair destroys in one season from fifty to one hundred thousand worms and Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Mathews, F. Schuyler (Ferdinand Schuyler), 1854-1938. New York, D. Appleton and Company
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Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: ., booka, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectnaturalhistory
